Tribulation

刘君祖CITIC Press · ChinaJun 2026

Rating 4.0
Word count
232K words
Chapters
196
ISBN
9787508664606

Tags

Eastern Philosophy Life PhilosophyHumilityPerseveranceSocial ConductNine HexagramsI Ching WisdomFlexibilityMoral Cultivation

Summary

This book offers a thorough analysis of the nine忧患 (contingency) hexagrams in the I Ching—Lu (Treading), Qian (Modesty), Fu (Return), Heng (Duration), Sun (Decrease), Yi (Increase), Kun (Oppression), Jing (The Well), and Xun (The Gentle Wind): "Lu" means steadfastly tempering one's professional abilities; "Qian" means keeping a low profile and resolving disputes; "Sun" means rational regulation, careful budgeting, and ultimately benefiting; "Kun" means encountering difficulties without altering one's resolve; "Jing" means R&D and innovation leading to great success; "Xun" means flexible adaptation and taking charge of everything. The author explains the nine hexagrams of contingency in detail, elucidating the way to dispel life's confusions and transform success and failure, helping readers in complex circumstances to strengthen themselves with dignity, improve their cultivation, endure hardships, and ultimately achieve perfection through adversity.

Editor's review

The author selects nine hexagrams from the I Ching—Lu (Treading), Qian (Modesty), Fu (Return), Heng (Duration), Sun (Decrease), Yi (Increase), Kun (Oppression), Jing (The Well), and Xun (The Gentle)—called the nine hexagrams of hardship, and analyzes them one by one, grounding the ancient hexagram and line texts in real-world issues such as work competence, conduct, resource regulation, handling circumstances, innovative research and development, and flexible leadership. The book repeatedly makes one point: hardship is not passive worry but the discipline of remaining dignified and self-strengthening, and of cultivating oneself, amid complex circumstances. Lu speaks of steady practice and tempering; Qian, of keeping a low profile and resolving disputes; Kun, of facing difficulties without changing one’s resolve; Jing, of research and innovation leading to success. Together the nine hexagrams form a path of self-adjustment in adversity that ultimately brings a person to completion. It is suited to slow reading when circumstances are unclear and the mind restless, comparing one hexagram at a time with oneself and turning the principles into a reference for reflection. The reasoning is dense; readers should enter with their own questions and need not rush.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Not a good fit for

Reading tips

  1. Read one hexagram at a time; when you finish, close the book and write one or two sentences on how this hexagram relates to your present situation.
  2. Read through in the order Lu, Qian, Fu, Heng, Sun, Yi, Kun, Jing, Xun, noting the progressive relations among the nine hexagrams.
  3. When undecided about something, turn to the relevant hexagram section and reread it, using the book’s principles as a mirror for examining your thinking.
  4. Keep a pen ready to note questions and reflections in the margins, and return to them after a while to see how you have changed.

About the publisher

CITIC Press China · Founded in 1988

Founded in 1988 and affiliated with China CITIC Group, CITIC Press focuses on business and economics, social sciences, literature and children's books, with common categories covering social sciences, finance, literature, Eastern philosophy and literary appreciation. Its library holds 91 titles, including Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens trilogy, Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Wu Xiaobo's Thirty Years of Strife: Chinese Enterprises 1978–2008, Nelly Sachs's The Weight of Butterflies: Selected Poems of Nelly Sachs, as well as New Interpretations of the Analects and Chiang Hsun's lectures on Dream of the Red Chamber. Its authors and translators include Lin Junhong, Ba Shusong, Chen Li and Chang Fen-ling. Overall, the press introduces influential works in finance and social sciences while balancing classic translation and local appreciation in literature and Eastern philosophy, combining academic depth with accessible reading.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 自序 生于忧患
  3. 导读
  4. 履险如夷——履卦䷉
  5. 忧患第一卦
  6. “人位”以柔克刚的智慧
  7. 履险如夷
  8. 履卦的卦中卦
  9. 履卦卦辞
  10. 创意修辞法：卦名与卦辞不分开
  11. 履卦《彖传》
  12. 以柔履刚
  13. 刚中正，履帝位而不疚，光明也
  14. 履卦《象传》
  15. 全履之象
  16. 均无贫，和无寡，安无倾
  17. 履卦六爻详述
  18. 初爻：特立独行
  19. 二爻：谨守中道
  20. 三爻：志行失当
  21. 四爻：低调谨慎
  22. 五爻：杀伐决断
  23. 上爻：有德者必有言
  24. 履卦“上九”与太极拳
  25. 有终之美——谦卦䷎
  26. 卦爻全吉的谦卦
  27. 有终之美
  28. 谦、豫二卦的错综分析
  29. 谦、豫二卦的差异分析
  30. 谦、豫、随……的卦序分析
  31. 谦、豫二卦的“身体《易》”探析
  32. 谦轻而豫怠也
  33. 重门击柝，以待暴客
  34. 从卦象上看谦、豫
  35. 谦卦卦辞
  36. 谦卦《彖传》
  37. 谦卦《象传》
  38. 同功而异位
  39. 谦卦六爻详述
  40. 三爻：万民景服
  41. 由谦卦“九三”说卦中卦
  42. 初爻：低调再低调
  43. 二爻：造势之力
  44. 谦卦上卦三爻“无不利”
  45. 四爻：精神利用
  46. 五爻：当仁不让
  47. 上爻：正义之战
  48. 谦卦的全胜观念
  49. 一元复始——复卦䷗
  50. 复卦的核心创造力
  51. 终日乾乾，反复道也
  52. 观复的力量源自坤卦
  53. 螺旋形的上升曲线
  54. 复卦卦辞
  55. 复卦《彖传》
  56. 生命的规律节奏
  57. “天癸至”的概念
  58. 复卦《象传》
  59. 单行道与螺旋行进之道
  60. 营卫气血——复卦的中医观点
  61. 复卦六爻详述
  62. 初爻：天地之心往内求
  63. 平常心就是道
  64. 二爻：及时休养
  65. 三爻：一念之间
  66. 四爻：依中道而行
  67. 五爻：大德敦化
  68. 上爻：天灾人祸并至
  69. 康熙亲征噶尔丹
  70. 天长地久——恒卦䷟
  71. 天人相应的自然法则
  72. 恒卦的应用
  73. 咸、恒中有大过卦的意义
  74. 恒卦卦辞
  75. 恒卦《象传》
  76. 恒卦《彖传》
  77. 恒卦“卦吉、爻凶”的分析
  78. 咸卦各爻间应与关系的结果
  79. 恒卦各爻间应与关系的结果
  80. 恒卦六爻详述
  81. 初爻：不当的深入
  82. 四爻：求不得苦
  83. 三爻：无处容身
  84. 上爻：动摇国本
  85. 二爻：善补过
  86. 五爻：久经考验
  87. 惩忿窒欲——损卦䷨
  88. 六十四卦中最难的两个卦——损、益二卦
  89. 解卦与终极关怀
  90. 损、益的说文解字
  91. 损、益的定位
  92. 损、益在道家中的发挥
  93. 损、益与咸、恒的关系
  94. 损、益与泰、否的关系
  95. 损卦的卦中卦
  96. 《序卦传》说损、益
  97. 《杂卦传》说损、益
  98. 益卦有农耕之象
  99. 忧患中的损益
  100. 损卦卦辞
  101. 损卦《彖传》
  102. 损卦《象传》
  103. 移山填海之难和欲壑难填
  104. 理性节制感性
  105. 损卦六爻详述
  106. 损卦的不言之象
  107. 初爻：量力而为
  108. 四爻：久旱逢甘霖
  109. 二爻：密不透风
  110. 五爻：自然获益
  111. 三爻：小舍大得
  112. 上爻：功成名就
  113. 利益众生——益卦䷩
  114. 六十四卦最难解之卦
  115. 斟酌损益与泰极否来
  116. 利益众生
  117. 集思广益
  118. 民意至上的弊端
  119. 益卦卦辞
  120. 损卦之“利有攸往”
  121. 益卦《象传》
  122. 益卦《彖传》
  123. 益卦六爻详述
  124. 初爻：全民积极投入
  125. 二爻：富而好礼
  126. “自外来”与“固有之”
  127. 三爻：济难救困
  128. 王道政治的施政程序
  129. 四爻：政治改革
  130. 五爻：利益众生
  131. 上爻：无所逃于天地间
  132. 致命遂志——困卦䷮
  133. 升而不已必困
  134. 从升卦到困卦各爻的比较分析
  135. “困”的字形分析与延伸说明
  136. 价值链的说法
  137. 困卦之所以困的初爻、三爻、上爻分析
  138. 困—井—革：走出困卦，再创新天地
  139. 人生各种不同的难
  140. 绝处逢生
  141. 蓝海策略——困、井、革的绝处逢生
  142. 《序卦传》说困、井二卦
  143. 井通而困相遇也
  144. 忧患九卦之困卦与井卦
  145. 困卦的卦中卦
  146. 困卦卦辞
  147. 困卦《彖传》
  148. 困卦《象传》
  149. 从爻际关系看“柔掩刚”和“刚柔交相困”
  150. 困卦六爻详述
  151. 初爻：遗世而独立
  152. 三爻：身败名裂
  153. 上爻：改弦更张
  154. 二爻：锤炼意志
  155. 五爻：中直之道
  156. 四爻：掣肘之弊
  157. 研发转型——井卦䷯
  158. 萃升、困井的异同之处
  159. 物极不反
  160. 《易经》中的饮食器具——制器尚象
  161. 井卦的卦中卦
  162. 井卦卦辞
  163. 深造自得
  164. 极低调的开发
  165. 井卦《象传》
  166. 井卦《彖传》
  167. 井与涣——影响世界的能力
  168. 井卦六爻详述
  169. 初爻：用进废退
  170. 二爻：艰难的突破
  171. 三爻：叫好又叫座
  172. 四爻：完美的修整
  173. 五爻：品牌效应
  174. 上爻：维持品牌的忠诚度
  175. 申命行事——巽卦䷸
  176. 八个基本卦的规律
  177. 丰旅相综看世象
  178. 《易经》中的“闲”与“品”
  179. 无入而不自得
  180. 旅、巽、兑、涣卦序分析
  181. 巽卦的卦中卦
  182. 《序卦传》说巽、兑、涣
  183. 兑见而巽伏也
  184. 忧患九卦之巽卦
  185. 巽卦卦辞
  186. 巽卦《彖传》
  187. 巽卦《象传》
  188. 巽为进退、为不果、为近利市三倍
  189. 巽卦六爻详述
  190. 初爻：武人魄力
  191. 二爻：数往知来
  192. 三爻：遭遇瓶颈
  193. 四爻：上下打点
  194. 五爻：借壳上市
  195. 上爻：能入不能出
  196. 中国人的天命观

FAQ

Can I understand this book without having read the I Ching? You can try, but it takes some patience. The author analyzes the nine hexagrams one by one, focusing on how their principles correspond to real circumstances and not relying on divination knowledge. If you are unfamiliar with the basic concepts of hexagrams and lines, however, it is advisable to first learn the general structure of the I Ching.
Which nine hexagrams are the nine hexagrams of hardship? They are Lu, Qian, Fu, Heng, Sun, Yi, Kun, Jing, and Xun. The book analyzes each separately and explains how together they form an approach to facing hardship and cultivating self-strengthening.
Is this book about divination and fortune-telling? No. The book focuses on the principles of the nine hexagrams and discusses how to resolve life’s confusions and turn success and failure around, with its emphasis on cultivation and conduct rather than predicting good or ill fortune.
Is it suitable to read in one sitting? Not really. The content of the nine hexagrams is dense and best read slowly, one hexagram at a time, in relation to your own circumstances. Reading it all at once easily stays on the surface and leaves little impression.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

刘君祖 Author · Chinese · 1952

Liu Junzu, born in 1952, is a scholar of Confucianism and a researcher of the I Ching (Book of Changes). He has long immersed himself in classical Chinese texts, with a particular focus on the I Ching, and is skilled at illustrating classical principles with examples from everyday life, creating an interpretation style that is plain and closely tied to daily experience. His writings cover the I Ching, the Analects, Sun Tzu's Art of War, Guiguzi, and character appraisal. His representative works include New Interpretations of the Analects (two volumes), New Interpretations of Guiguzi, New Interpretations of Bingjian, Qian and Kun: Liu Junzu on the Great Wisdom of Qian and Kun, Liu Junzu's Complete Book of I Ching Divination (two volumes), and Romance of Sun Tzu's Art of War. Eleven of his works are included in the collection, mostly categorized under Eastern philosophy, social culture, and philosophical readings. His books are aimed at general readers and focus on turning ancient wisdom into accessible and practical ways of thinking, giving him a certain influence in the popular transmission of traditional classics.