振民育德，先甲後甲
先看圖像，再讀文字。Read the image before the words.
山下有風，蠱
(The trigram representing) a mountain, and below it that for wind, form Gu.
君子以振民育德。
The superior man, in accordance with this, addresses himself to help the people and nourish his own virtue.
山下有風（風吹山下而停）——蠱之象。君子由此體會：要振奮民眾、培育德性。
(The trigram representing) a mountain, and below it that for wind, form Gu. The superior man, in accordance with this, addresses himself to help the people and nourish his own virtue.
先讀經文，再讀《彖傳》如何解釋卦辭。The received text, then the Tuan commentary on it.
蠱：元亨，利涉大川。先甲三日，後甲三日。
蠱卦——大亨通，利於涉險大事。事前三日（辛日）謀畫，事後三日（丁日）善後。治蠱之事須有準備有檢省。
Gu indicates great progress and success (to him who deals properly with the condition represented by it). There will be advantage in (efforts like that of) crossing the great stream. (He should weigh well, however, the events of) three days before the turning point, and those (to be done) three days after it.
蠱，剛上而柔下，巽而止，蠱。蠱元亨，而天下治也。利涉大川，往有事也。先甲三日，後甲三日，終則有始，天行也。
蠱：剛在上而柔在下，巽（順）而止——這就是蠱。蠱大亨通，天下因之而治。利涉大川，是因為有事可往。先甲三日後甲三日，是終了之處便是新的開始——這是天道之常。
In Gu we have the strong (trigram) above, and the weak one below; we have (below) pliancy, and (above) stoppage. Gu indicates the existence of (such a state of) decay.
六條線各有一句判斷。閱讀次序初→上；卦象由下而上，看左側的卦。One statement per line, read from the first line to the top. The figure is drawn bottom-up — watch the rail.
幹父之蠱，有子，考無咎，厲終吉。
治理父輩遺留的弊端——有兒子（能繼承），先父就無咎。雖厲終吉。
The first SIX shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his father. If he be an (able) son, the father will escape the blame of having erred. The position is perilous, but there will be good fortune in the end.
幹父之蠱，意承考也。
治父之蠱，意在繼承先父。
幹母之蠱，不可貞。
治理母輩遺留的弊端——不可固守。對母親之蠱要溫和處理。
The second NINE shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his mother. He should not (carry his firm correctness too far).
幹母之蠱，得中道也。
治母之蠱，是得中道。
幹父之蠱，小有悔，無大咎。
治理父輩弊端——小有悔但無大咎。剛中而行，雖過嚴而仍可。
The third NINE shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his father. There may be some small occasion for repentance, but there will not be any great error.
幹父之蠱，終無咎也。
治父之蠱，終究無咎。
裕父之蠱，往見吝。
寬裕地對待父輩之蠱（不認真治理）——前往則吝。柔位而怠，治蠱不力。
The fourth SIX shows (a son) viewing indulgently the troubles caused by his father. If he go forward, he will find cause to regret it.
裕父之蠱，往未得也。
寬裕治父之蠱，前往不能得。
幹父之蠱，用譽。
治父之蠱——用美譽（以名望治之）。柔得尊位，能用名譽鞭策。
The fifth SIX shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his father. He obtains the praise of using (the fit instrument for his work).
幹父用譽，承以德也。
用譽治父之蠱，是以德承之。
不事王侯，高尚其事。
不為王侯做事——高尚自己之事。蠱卦之終，超脫於世事之外。
The topmost NINE shows us one who does not serve either king or feudal lord, but in a lofty spirit prefers (to attend to) his own affairs.
不事王侯，志可則也。
不事王侯之志，可作為法則。
把象套到你的情境，取一個可行的下一步。Apply the image to your situation; take one practical step.
治舊·振民·先甲後甲
Treating decay · uplifting people · before and after the start
蠱卦最大的應用：「振民育德」+「先甲後甲」。治舊之要不在斷除，在振育——既要清除弊端，更要培育新德。最忌六四「裕父之蠱」——對舊弊寬縱必積成大病。最高境是六五「用譽」+ 上九「不事王侯」。
Gu's deepest applications: 'uplift people, cultivate virtue' + 'three days before and after the start'. Treating decay isn't just cutting — it's cultivating new virtue while removing old. Worst: line 4 'lenient with father's mess' — leniency breeds great illness. Peak: line 5's 'use praise' + line 6's 'not serving princes'.
六四「裕父之蠱往見吝」是現代組織最常見的失——對前任留下的弊端不認真治理，以為「不打擾舊人」是溫情，其實是放任。讀此爻自警：寬縱舊弊就是新蠱的種子。
Line 4 'lenient with father's mess invites regret' — modern org's common failure. Failing to treat predecessor's issues, thinking 'don't disturb the old' is kind — actually permissive. Lenience to old decay is the seed of new decay.
王弼以為蠱卦的核心在「治舊」——舊有之弊不治則積久成蠱。卦辭「先甲三日後甲三日」是治蠱之節奏：先期準備，後期善後。讀此卦最該記住「振民育德」四字——治蠱不只在斷除，在振育。
For Wang Bi the core of Gu is 'treating the old': faults left untreated accumulate over time into decay (gu 蠱). The Judgment's 'three days before jia, three days after jia' is the rhythm of the work — prepare beforehand, settle affairs afterward. What most deserves remembering here are the four characters 'rouse the people, nourish virtue' (zhen min yu de 振民育德): treating decay is not mere excision but revival and cultivation.
程子強調「幹父之蠱」一語的深意——治理上代留下的弊端，是承擔責任而非反叛。彼以六五「用譽」為主——治蠱之高境是用美譽鞭策而非強力。
Cheng Yi stresses the depth of the phrase 'dealing with the father's decay': to treat the faults left by the previous generation is to shoulder responsibility, not to rebel. He takes line 5, 'using praise,' as the ruling idea — the high art of treating decay works through honor and reputation, not raw force.
朱子直言：蠱者，事也、敗也。卦中六爻多寫「幹父母之蠱」——是中國政治哲學中「子承父業而改其弊」的經典表達。學者觀此知：對舊有不可全廢亦不可全承，要「幹之以正」。
Zhu Xi is direct: gu means both 'affairs' and 'ruin.' Most of the six lines speak of 'dealing with the father's or mother's decay' — the classic expression, in Chinese political philosophy, of the son inheriting the father's enterprise while correcting its faults. From this the student learns: the old can be neither wholly discarded nor wholly inherited — it must be 'managed with uprightness.'
蠱是東西放久了生的壞，治蠱就是接手一攤舊弊。卦裡反覆寫「幹父之蠱」，接的多半是上一代留下的爛帳，接了就得認。六四是反面教材：「裕父之蠱，往見吝」，對舊弊手軟放寬，眼下省事，拖下去積成大病。六五給了正面的手法，「幹父之蠱，用譽」，拿名聲和德望做槓桿去撬舊局，比硬砍省力，也持久。大象「振民育德」把格局再放大一層：清弊只算治了一半，把人心振起來、風氣養起來，蠱纔算除了根。到上九「不事王侯，高尚其事」，事外之人自守其高，後世隱士的骨頭多半從這一爻來。
Gu is the rot things grow when left too long; treating gu means taking over a pile of old faults. The lines keep saying 'dealing with the father's decay' — what you inherit is mostly the previous generation's bad ledger, and once you take it on, you own it. Line 4 is the cautionary case: 'indulging the father's decay — going on brings regret.' Go soft on old faults and you save trouble today while the thing festers into a serious disease. Line 5 gives the positive method: 'dealing with the father's decay, using praise' — use reputation and moral standing as the lever to pry the old situation open. It costs less than hacking away, and it lasts longer. The Great Image, 'rouse the people, nourish virtue,' widens the frame another step: clearing faults is only half the cure; only when hearts are roused and the culture is nourished is the decay pulled out by the root. Then the top line: 'serving neither king nor lord, holding his own work high' — the one outside affairs keeps his own height. The backbone of the later hermit tradition mostly comes from this line.
Decay, corruption — what has gone bad through neglect. The original graph shows worms in a vessel (or belly).
To manage, to set in order — the active work of treating what has decayed.
The deceased father.
First of the ten heavenly stems — figuratively, the starting point of an undertaking.
Lenient, indulgent, easy-going — here, too soft on the old faults.
Affairs, duties; one's proper work.
To rouse, to stir into vigor.
第 17 隨與第 18 蠱為一對綜卦+錯卦（特殊對稱）。卦序揭示：盲目跟隨（隨）會積成弊端（蠱）——治蠱之要在於識正而後從。
Hexagram 17 Sui and Hexagram 18 Gu are both inverse and opposite of each other — a rare structural symmetry. The sequence carries the lesson: blind following (Sui) accumulates into decay (Gu), and the key to treating decay is to recognize the upright before following anything.
卦辭「先甲三日後甲三日」是中國改革哲學的經典——「甲」為天干第一，喻事之始。前三日（辛日）謀畫，後三日（丁日）善後。後世改革論多源於此。
The Judgment's 'three days before jia, three days after jia' is a classic of Chinese reform philosophy. Jia 甲 is the first of the ten heavenly stems, standing for the start of an undertaking: plan in the three days before (the xin day), settle the aftermath in the three days after (the ding day). Much later reform thinking traces to this line.
六爻多次出現「幹父／母之蠱」是中國「世代承擔」思想的源頭——子承父業時必須繼承其志而改其弊，這是孝的真義。後世「光宗耀祖」皆與此相應。
The recurring phrase 'dealing with the father's / mother's decay' is a source of the Chinese idea of generational responsibility: the son who inherits the father's enterprise must carry on its intent while correcting its faults — this is the true meaning of filial piety. The later ideal of 'bringing glory to the ancestors' answers to this hexagram.
上九「不事王侯，高尚其事」一句是中國隱士文化的源頭之一——當蠱已成而治不可為時，超然於世事是最高之德。後世陶淵明、林逋皆此卦上爻之化身。
The top line — 'serving neither king nor lord, holding his own work high' — is one of the sources of Chinese hermit culture: when decay is complete and treatment is no longer possible, transcending worldly affairs is the highest virtue. Later figures such as Tao Yuanming and Lin Bu are embodiments of this line.
「振民育德」之意？為何治蠱不只是除惡？
What does 振民育德 (zhen min yu de) mean? Why is treating decay not merely removing evil?
為何「先甲三日，後甲三日」是改革節奏的經典？
Why is 'three days before and after Jia' the classic reform rhythm?
用上九「不事王侯」評論一個你欽佩的選擇了「高尚自己之事」的人。
Use line 6 to comment on someone you admire who chose 'their own lofty work'.