The Jiaren Hexagram

The idiom zhōngliúdǐzhù (中流砥柱) first appears in Yanzi Chunqiu, Neipian, Jianxia:

「吾嘗從君濟于河，黿銜左驂，以入砥柱之中流。」

It describes a great boulder in the Yellow River’s mid-current, unmoved by the torrent. Later, Song thinkers such as Zhu Xi praised integrity with the phrase 「中流之底柱（砥柱）」. The grindstone-pillar resists the current; in resisting, it polishes.

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Meaning

• Yijing, Hexagram 37 Jiaren (家人): “Order within the household brings order to society.”

• Trigrams: ☴ Wind above ☲ Fire (外柔內明). Inner clarity (Li, below) governs outer adaptability (Xun, above).

• Teaching: Steadfastness is not rigidity but clarity inside, responsiveness outside — a household pillar that steadies all around it.

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Practice

In family and community:

• 言有度 — clarity with measure

• 行有常 — steady conduct

• 名分有序 — roles in order

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Zōngqì (宗氣)

In the Lingshu – Xieke chapter:

「五穀入於胃也，其糟粕津液宗氣分為三隧。故宗氣積於胸中，出於喉嚨，以貫心脈，而行呼吸焉。」

The Taishu adds:

「出於肺，循喉嚨，呼則出，吸則入。」

Physiologically, zōngqì anchors breath, voice, and circulation. Interpretively, zōng evokes lineage — the ancestral root expressing as present vitality.

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Bridge

As the 砥 pillar steadies the river, Jiaren steadies the household. Zōngqì is the body’s analogue: voice and breath as inner pillars, ensuring clarity in words and constancy in action.

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Wearable Reminder

Each piece in the Jiaren Collection is a grindstone-pillar to wear: clarity within, flexibility without, rooted amidst the surging currents.

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Sources

• Yanzi Chunqiu, Neipian, Jianxia

• Yijing 37 Jiaren

• Lingshu, “Xieke”

• Taishu digest

• Zhu Xi, 「中流之底柱」