丈人吉，容民畜眾
先看圖像，再讀文字。Read the image before the words.
地中有水，師
(The trigram representing) the earth and in the midst of it that representing water, form Shi.
君子以容民畜眾。
The superior man, in accordance with this, nourishes and educates the people, and collects (from among them) the multitudes (of the hosts).
地中有水——師之象。君子由此體會：要能容納百姓、畜養大眾。
(The trigram representing) the earth and in the midst of it that representing water, form Shi. The superior man, in accordance with this, nourishes and educates the people, and collects (from among them) the multitudes (of the hosts).
先讀經文，再讀《彖傳》如何解釋卦辭。The received text, then the Tuan commentary on it.
師：貞，丈人吉，無咎。
師卦——守正則吉。需要老成持重之人（丈人）來統率方為吉，無咎。領兵之事最忌少年用事。
Shi indicates how, in the case which it supposes, with firmness and correctness, and (a leader of) age and experience, there will be good fortune and no error.
師，眾也；貞，正也。能以眾正，可以王矣。剛中而應，行險而順，以此毒天下而民從之，吉又何咎矣。
師即眾人；貞即正道。能以眾人之正方可以為王。剛在中位（九二）而與上應（六五），行於險中而能順——以此「毒」（治理）天下而民眾跟從，怎能不吉？
Shi denotes the multitude. Vehement correctness — the multitude (held together) by correctness — is what may give one the mastery (over the kingdom). The strong line is in the central place, and is responded to (by the proper correlate). The action is dangerous, but in accordance (with the best sentiments of men).
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.
師出以律，否臧凶。
出兵必以紀律——若紀律不善（否臧），凶。出兵之始，律是命脈。
The first SIX shows the host going forth according to the rules (for such a movement). If these be not good, there will be evil.
師出以律，失律凶也。
出兵必以律，失律則凶。
在師，中吉，無咎，王三錫命。
在軍中——居中得吉，無咎，君王三次賜命嘉獎。剛中得位，是統帥之主爻。
The second NINE shows (the leader) in the midst of the host. There will be good fortune and no error. The king has thrice conveyed to him the orders (of his favour).
在師中吉，承天寵也。王三錫命，懷萬邦也。
在軍中之吉，是承受天寵。三次受命，是懷柔萬邦。
師或輿尸，凶。
軍隊用車載著屍體（敗績）——凶。陰柔不正、處於危位而欲領兵，必敗。
The third SIX shows how the host may, possibly, have many inefficient leaders. There will be evil.
師或輿尸，大無功也。
軍隊載屍敗回，是毫無功勞。
師左次，無咎。
軍隊向左後撤——無咎。柔得位、知進退，能適時退守是德。
The fourth SIX shows the host in retreat. There will be no error.
左次無咎，未失常也。
左次無咎，是未失軍之常理。
田有禽，利執言，無咎。長子帥師，弟子輿尸，貞凶。
田中有禽（侵犯之敵）——利於執言出兵，無咎。但須由長子（成熟之將）統帥；若由弟子（少年）統帥則必敗，守此凶。
The fifth SIX shows birds in the fields, which it will be advantageous to seize (and destroy). In that case there will be no error. If the oldest son leads the host, and younger men idly occupy (offices assigned to them), however firm he may be, there will be evil.
長子帥師，以中行也。弟子輿尸，使不當也。
長子帥師是以中道行之；弟子輿尸是用人不當。
大君有命，開國承家，小人勿用。
大君有命——封功臣為諸侯（開國）、世卿（承家）；但小人不可重用。戰爭結束、論功行賞之時。
The topmost SIX shows the great ruler delivering his charges, (appointing some) to be rulers of states, and others to undertake the headship of clans. But small men should not be employed (in such positions).
大君有命，以正功也。小人勿用，必亂邦也。
大君有命是正其功；小人勿用是恐亂邦。
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.
師·律·容民畜眾
Army · discipline · nurturing the multitude
師卦最大的應用：「丈人吉」+「容民畜眾」+「小人勿用」三句。用人之要在「成熟」，平時之要在「養人」，戰後之要在「拒佞」。最忌六三「輿尸」（用錯人必敗）。
Shi's deepest applications: 'senior wins' + 'nurture the multitude' + 'don't employ small men'. The key in selection is maturity, in peacetime is cultivation, in post-conflict is rejecting opportunists. Worst: line 3 'wagon of corpses' — wrong placement equals certain defeat.
六五「弟子輿尸」是現代組織最常見的失敗模式——把激進的新人放在需要老練的位置。讀此爻記住：戰時用人不在熱情，在經驗。
Line 5's 'youth wagons corpses' — the most common modern organizational failure. Putting aggressive newcomers in roles that need experience. War-time staffing isn't about enthusiasm — it's about experience.
王弼以為師卦的核心在「丈人」二字——軍旅之事必以老成持重之人統帥，少年用兵必敗。九二剛中而應六五，是全卦之主：王三次賜命，正因九二之德可懷柔萬邦。
For Wang Bi the core of Shi lies in the two characters zhangren 丈人, the seasoned elder: military affairs must be commanded by someone of age and steadiness, and a youth leading troops is bound to fail. Nine-in-the-second, firm and central, responding to six-in-the-fifth, rules the hexagram — the king confers his charge three times precisely because the virtue of this line can win over the ten thousand states.
程子強調彖傳「能以眾正可以王」——以眾人之正治理天下，方為王道。彼以為大象「容民畜眾」是君子常時之德，師之卦不只在用兵，更在平日的養民。
Cheng Yi stresses the Tuan Zhuan's line, 'one who can hold the multitude to correctness may become king' — governing the world through the correctness of the many is the kingly way. He takes the Great Image's 'accommodating the people and nurturing the multitude' as the superior man's virtue for ordinary times: the hexagram of the Army is not only about warfare, but even more about the everyday nourishing of the people.
朱子直言：師為兵眾之卦，但其大義不在「打勝仗」，在「以正用兵」。卦辭「丈人吉」意在不可輕戰；上六「小人勿用」意在不可酬庸非人。學者觀此知用兵之道全在「正」。
Zhu Xi is direct: Shi is the hexagram of armies and multitudes, but its great meaning lies not in 'winning battles' but in 'employing force with correctness.' The judgment's 'with a seasoned elder, auspicious' warns against going to war lightly; the top line's 'do not employ small men' warns against rewarding the unworthy. From this the student learns that the whole way of arms rests on correctness (zheng 正).
師是兵眾之卦，可它講的重心不在打仗，在帶人。卦辭只給三個字的用人標準：「丈人吉」。統眾要用老成持重的人，年輕氣盛的挑大樑，多半敗在氣上。平時的功夫在大象：「君子以容民畜眾」，人是平日養出來的，臨戰纔想起找人，已經晚了。打完仗還有一關，上六「開國承家，小人勿用」——論功行賞時把位置給錯人，勝仗的果實會爛在分配上。從選帥、養人到收尾，組織的事這一卦交代到底。
Shi is the hexagram of armies, but its real weight falls not on fighting — on leading people. The judgment gives a three-character standard for staffing: 'with a seasoned elder, auspicious.' Command of the many needs someone steady and experienced; put a hot-blooded youth in charge of the main beam and the failure usually comes from the temperament itself. The peacetime work is in the Great Image: 'the superior man accommodates the people and nurtures the multitude.' People are grown in ordinary days — start looking for them only when battle arrives and it is already too late. And after the war there is one more gate, the top line's 'founding states, continuing houses — do not employ small men': hand out the wrong positions at reward time and the fruits of victory rot in the distribution. From choosing the commander, to growing people, to closing out — this hexagram covers the business of organization end to end.
(1) Army, host; (2) the multitude; (3) teacher. Here primarily the army — a mass of people held together. The name of the hexagram.
The seasoned elder — a person of age, experience, and steadiness. The judgment's one requirement for command.
Holding to correctness; firm and correct. The condition on which the whole judgment rests.
Discipline, rules, code. In line 1, the lifeline of any army setting out.
Not good — discipline that fails or turns bad. The condition under which line 1 turns ominous.
To confer, bestow (archaic, equivalent to 賜). The king's threefold charge in line 2.
Carting corpses in wagons — the image of defeat. What happens when the wrong person commands.
Read as a loan for 篤 — to govern, to manage. In the Tuan Zhuan: to govern the world, not to poison it.
第 7 師（領兵）與第 8 比（親附）為一對綜卦。卦序的安排有深意：先有師（領導者帶眾人）才有比（眾人主動歸附）。能領才能聚——這是組織形成的兩個階段。
Hexagram 7, Shi (leading the host), and Hexagram 8, Bi (drawing close), are an inverse pair. The ordering carries a point: first Shi (a leader carrying the many), only then Bi (the many coming to attach themselves of their own accord). Only one who can lead can gather — these are the two stages by which an organization forms.
卦辭「丈人吉」與六五「長子帥師」相呼應——古人深知用兵之事必須老成。後世「老臣謀國」即源於此。現代企業遇到危機時宜用資深者守，不宜讓激進新人挑大樑。
The judgment's 'with a seasoned elder, auspicious' echoes line 5's 'let the eldest son command the host' — the ancients knew that warfare demands seasoned maturity. The later ideal of 'veteran ministers planning for the state' descends from this. A modern company in crisis should likewise be held by its senior people, not hand the main beam to aggressive newcomers.
大象「君子以容民畜眾」一句，揭示了領導之根本不在戰時，在平時。沒有平日的養人，戰時無人可用。後世「養兵千日用兵一時」即源於此。
The Great Image's 'the superior man accommodates the people and nurtures the multitude' reveals that the root of leadership lies not in wartime but in peacetime. Without cultivating people in ordinary days, there is no one to call on when battle comes. The later saying 'feed an army a thousand days to use it for one hour' descends from this.
上六「大君有命，開國承家，小人勿用」十一字是中國歷史上最深的警示——戰爭結束時論功行賞，最容易出現「以勳臣亂國」之事。上六的智慧是：寧可少封幾個，也不能讓小人據其位。
The top line — 'the great ruler issues his charges: founding states, continuing houses; do not employ small men' — is one of the deepest warnings in Chinese history. It is precisely at war's end, when merit is rewarded, that 'decorated officers throwing the state into disorder' most easily occurs. The wisdom of the line: better to enfeoff a few less than to let a small man occupy the seat.
「丈人」與「弟子」之別？為何丈人吉而弟子輿尸？
What is the difference between 丈人 (zhangren, the senior elder) and 弟子 (dizi, the junior disciples)? Why does seniority win?
為何「容民畜眾」是平時之德，不是戰時之事？
Why is 'nurturing the multitude' a peacetime virtue?
用上六「小人勿用」評論一個你看見過戰後論功時用人不當的事。
Use line 6 to comment on a post-success situation where the wrong people were rewarded.