萃Cui.Gathering Together.
Lake gathers above Earth: people, resources and emotion concentrate around a shared centre. Cui concerns assembly, common purpose, legitimate leadership and preparation for the risks created whenever many forces converge.
Create a centre worthy of concentration.
Cui means gathering, assembling or concentrating. Earth offers receptivity while Lake supplies shared feeling and exchange.
The Judgment joins gathering with temple, worthy leadership, correctness and meaningful offering. Numbers alone do not produce coherence; a gathering needs shared memory, credible authority and preparation.
Lake above. Earth below.
Water gathers on receptive ground. Concentration creates power, but also demands readiness for overflow and surprise.
Gather through devotion, correct leadership and prepared stewardship.
The governing proposition
萃：亨。王假有廟，利見大人，亨，利貞。用大牲吉，利有攸往。
Gathering brings success. The king approaches the ancestral temple. It is beneficial to see the great person, beneficial to remain correct, and beneficial to have somewhere to go.
Gathering through correctness
萃，聚也；順以說，剛中而應，故聚也。利見大人亨，聚以正也。
Cui is gathering. Receptivity joins with joy; the firm centre receives response. Gathering succeeds through what is correct.
Prepare for the unexpected
澤上於地，萃；君子以除戎器，戒不虞。
Lake above Earth: Gathering. The cultivated person prepares defensive instruments and guards against the unexpected.
Six stages of gathering.
Sincerity that does not reach completionCall out; confusion becomes laughter · Changes to 17 隨
初六：有孚不終，乃亂乃萃。若號，一握為笑，勿恤，往無咎。
Mixed signals scatter the group. Make the call clear, reconnect and proceed without anxiety.
小象傳 · 乃亂乃萃，其志亂也.Confused gathering reflects confused intention.
Being drawn forward brings good fortuneSincere simplicity is sufficient · Changes to 47 困
六二：引吉，無咎，孚乃利用禴。
Allow a genuine connection to draw you toward the centre. A modest offering is enough when sincere.
小象傳 · 引吉無咎，中未變也.The central quality has not changed.
Gathering with sighsGoing brings no blame, though slight regret · Changes to 31 咸
六三：萃如，嗟如，無攸利，往無咎，小吝。
Standing outside the group produces frustration. Move toward a receptive connection despite awkwardness.
小象傳 · 往無咎，上巽也.Going brings no blame because the one above is receptive.
Great good fortune; no blameService must justify an improper position · Changes to 08 比
九四：大吉，無咎。
Influence without the central seat must produce unmistakable benefit.
小象傳 · 大吉無咎，位不當也.Great fortune is required because the position is not appropriate.
Gathering around the positionBuild enduring trust through great correctness · Changes to 16 豫
九五：萃有位，無咎。匪孚，元永貞，悔亡。
Office attracts people before character earns them. Long, visible correctness transforms positional authority into trust.
小象傳 · 萃有位，志未光也.The position gathers people, but the intention is not yet fully illuminated.
Sighing and weepingEmotion reveals unmet belonging · Changes to 12 否
上六：齎咨涕洟，無咎。
At the edge of the gathering, isolation becomes grief. Honest feeling carries no blame.
小象傳 · 齎咨涕洟，未安上也.Sighing and weeping show unrest at the top.
Gather people around meaning, then prepare the structure to hold them.
Work and leadership
Clarify purpose, authority and safeguards before scaling participation.
Relationships
Belonging grows through sincere invitation, shared ritual and visible reliability.
Timing and decisions
Gather when a credible centre exists and the risks of concentration are understood.
Cui is constructive when concentration produces coherence rather than crowd psychology.
Aligned expression
- Purpose is shared.
- Leadership is trustworthy.
- Participation remains sincere.
- Scale is supported by preparation.
Distorted expression
- Numbers replace purpose.
- Position substitutes for trust.
- Emotion overwhelms structure.
- Risks of concentration are ignored.