Hexagram 17 Sui - Complete Guide Part 4: Philosophy — Following in Confucian, Taoist, and Political Thought
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BY NICOLE LAU
Hexagram 17 Sui - Complete Guide Part 4: Philosophy — Following in Confucian, Taoist, and Political Thought
Sui raises one of the most fundamental questions of moral and political philosophy: what is the nature of genuine following, and when does following become a virtue rather than a vice? The Confucian tradition, the Taoist tradition, and classical Chinese political philosophy each offer a distinct and complementary answer — and together they give the complete philosophy of Sui.
The Confucian Reading: Loyalty, Remonstrance, and the Discernment of What Is Worth Following
Zhong (忠): Loyalty as Active Discernment
The Confucian concept of zhong — loyalty, the genuine inner commitment to the genuine good of the person or cause one follows — is the philosophical foundation of Sui. But Confucian loyalty is not blind obedience; it is the active discernment of what is genuinely worth following. The Analects record Confucius’s consistent teaching that genuine loyalty requires the courage to remonstrate — to speak truth to power, to correct what is not right in the person one follows, to maintain genuine inner virtue even in the act of following.
The Confucian minister who follows the ruler with genuine loyalty does not simply obey; they follow with the active discernment of the person who knows what is genuinely worth following and what is not. This is the Confucian philosophy of Sui: genuine following is the active discernment of genuine loyalty, not the passive compliance of blind obedience.
Yi (义): Righteousness as the Standard of Genuine Following
The Confucian concept of yi — righteousness, the precise standard of what is genuinely right in each situation — is the philosophical foundation of Sui’s most important teaching: genuine following is grounded in the genuine standard of righteousness, not in personal advantage or blind obedience. Line 4’s warning — following that creates outer success but whose perseverance brings misfortune — is the Confucian warning against following that abandons yi: the following that is grounded in personal advantage rather than genuine righteousness.
The Confucian standard of yi gives the precise framework for Sui’s discernment: what is genuinely right in this situation? What is the genuine standard of righteousness that should guide the following? The person who follows with genuine yi — who follows the genuine standard of righteousness rather than personal advantage — finds the good fortune of Line 5: sincere in the good.
The Paradox of Confucian Following: Loyalty Through Remonstrance
The deepest Confucian insight of Sui is the paradox of genuine loyalty through genuine remonstrance. The Confucian minister who follows the ruler with genuine loyalty does not simply agree; they remonstrate — they speak truth to power, they correct what is not right, they maintain genuine inner virtue even in the act of following. This is the Confucian expression of Sui’s Line 6: the following that is so genuine it must be held fast by the king himself — the loyalty that is so complete it includes the courage to remonstrate.
The Taoist Reading: Wu Wei and the Natural Flow of Following
Wu Wei (无为): Non-Action and the Natural Flow of Genuine Following
The Taoist concept of wu wei — non-action, the quality of acting in perfect alignment with the natural order without forcing or straining — is the philosophical foundation of Sui’s image of thunder within the lake. The thunder of genuine inner energy held within the joyful openness of the lake is the image of wu wei: the powerful inner energy that is expressed not through force but through the natural flow of genuine alignment with the natural order.
The Tao Te Ching: “The Tao does nothing, yet nothing is left undone.” (Chapter 37) The genuine following of Sui is the wu wei of genuine adaptability: the following that does not force itself but flows naturally with the natural order, that does not strain against the current but moves with it, that does not impose its own agenda but follows the genuine good of the situation.
Pu (朴) and the Simplicity of Genuine Following
The Taoist concept of pu — the uncarved block, the simplicity of the thing that has not been shaped by calculation or strategy — is the philosophical foundation of Sui’s Line 5: sincere in the good. The genuine sincerity of Line 5 is the pu of genuine following: the simplicity of the person who follows the good without calculation, without strategy, without the performance of loyalty. The person who follows the good with the simplicity of pu finds the good fortune of Line 5: sincere in the good. Good fortune.
The Paradox of Taoist Following: Leading Through Following
The Taoist philosophy of Sui is the philosophy of leading through following — the paradox of the sage who leads by following the natural order. The Tao Te Ching: “The sage does not contend, and therefore no one can contend with him.” (Chapter 22) The genuine following of Sui is the Taoist leadership through non-contention: the person who follows the natural order — who moves with the current rather than against it — finds that the natural order follows them in return. This is the supreme expression of Sui: the following that leads.
The Political Philosophy of Sui: Genuine Adaptability and Lasting Authority
Sui as Political Wisdom
The I Ching’s political reading of Sui is one of its most sophisticated contributions to classical Chinese political philosophy. The judgment — “following has supreme success; perseverance furthers; no blame” — is a political vision: the genuine adaptability that moves with the natural order of the time, that follows the genuine good of the situation rather than a fixed ideological position, that maintains genuine inner virtue through the entire journey of political following.
The political leader of genuine following is not the leader who imposes a fixed agenda but the leader who follows the genuine needs of the time — who adapts to the changing situation with the active discernment of genuine inner virtue. This is the political expression of Sui: the genuine adaptability that creates lasting authority through genuine responsiveness to the genuine needs of the people.
The Danger of Political Following: Sycophancy and Blind Obedience
Sui’s most important political teaching is the distinction between genuine political following and its counterfeits. The following for personal advantage (Line 4) is the political sycophancy that creates outer success but inner misfortune: the political follower who agrees with the ruler for personal gain rather than genuine loyalty. The following that loses genuine inner virtue is the political blind obedience that abandons righteousness for compliance. Sui’s warning: genuine political following requires the active discernment of genuine loyalty — the courage to remonstrate, the willingness to follow the genuine good rather than personal advantage.
Sui and the Philosophy of Invariant Constants
Sui and Gu (Work on What Has Been Spoiled, Hexagram 18) together express one of the I Ching’s most important invariant constants: the natural cycle of following and correction. The person who follows the natural order (Sui) finds the genuine work of correction (Gu) as the natural consequence: the genuine adaptability of Sui creates the conditions for the genuine correction of Gu. The invariant constant is not the following itself but the natural cycle that makes genuine adaptability and genuine correction possible.
The philosophical insight of Sui is that genuine following is not the opposite of genuine leadership but its foundation: the person who follows the natural order — who moves with the current rather than against it — finds that the natural order follows them in return. This is the invariant constant of Sui: genuine following creates genuine leadership through the power of genuine adaptability.
What Is Next in This Series
- Part 1: The Symbol and Structure
- Part 2: The Six Lines — Complete Line-by-Line Commentary
- Part 3: Divination Guide — How to Read Sui in Practice
- Part 4 (This Article): Philosophy — Following in Confucian, Taoist, and Political Thought
- Part 5: Practical Applications — Leadership, Relationships, Adaptability, Timing
- Part 6: Modern Interpretations — Systems Thinking, Adaptive Leadership, Complexity Science
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