漸

王弼以為漸卦的核心在「進以正」——前進必伴正道，不可越次而進。卦辭「女歸吉」是因為婚姻之事最須漸進。讀此卦最該記住「居賢德善俗」六字——漸進的根本是德性的累積。

Wang Bi takes the core of Jian to be 'advancing with correctness' — every advance must keep to the right path, never skipping a step. The Judgment says 'the maiden's marriage is auspicious' because marriage, of all things, must proceed by degrees. What most deserves remembering are the six characters 'abide in worthy virtue and better the customs' (ju xian de shan su 居賢德善俗) — the root of gradual advance is the accumulation of virtue.

漸講有次序的進，快慢還在其次。六爻都以「鴻漸」起句，大雁從水邊起步，經磐石、高地、樹上，一路到山陵雲天，一站一站往上挪，哪一站都省不得。最凶的是九三「夫征不復，婦孕不育」：脫了隊往前衝，去了回不來，家裡的事也保不住，越次而進的代價寫得明白。走到上九，「其羽可用為儀，吉」，按著次序飛上高處的雁，連落下的羽毛都能拿去作儀仗。漸之至成就成在這裡：每一步都踩實了，最後的樣子自然可觀。

Jian is about advancing in sequence; speed comes second. Every line opens with 'the wild goose advances' — the goose starts at the water's edge and moves through the great rock, the high ground, the treetop, all the way to the hill and the open sky, one station at a time, and not one station can be skipped. The worst is line 3, 'the husband marches off and does not return; the wife conceives and does not carry': break from the flock and charge ahead, and you can't come back — even the things at home can't be kept. The cost of advancing out of turn is written out plainly. Arrive at the top line, 'its feathers can serve for the rites — auspicious,' and the goose that flew up in proper order leaves even its fallen feathers fit for ceremonial regalia. That is where gradual advance completes itself: every step planted solidly, and the final form is naturally worth looking at.