Yin-Yin-Yang-Rén
The yang stands braced and blazing, a city wall around things,
and the ten thousand things all have somewhere to live.
1
Nobody praises him and nobody blames him.
He keeps the house.
This is what the ordinary road looks like.
2
There is no pot in the house.
The mother-in-law waits on the wife and scrubs the floor.
Nothing here is holding up what is above it.
3
Older and younger stand where they should.
The son takes up what the father was carrying.
This is how a house begins to rise.
4
There is a pig in the main hall.
The dog comes in along the same tracks.
Nothing about this body is well.
5
Stern and prow both trimmed and steady.
Wealth, and it is straight wealth.
Everything on board is going the same way.
6
He puts the well and the stove outside the house.
In three years everyone has turned away.
Nobody eats there any more.
7
The old father puts his arms through the shafts.
The young daughter carries the water across.
The house holds because it is carried at both ends.
8
The table is turned round. There are two ladles.
Nobody knows which end is the head.
Nothing out of that kitchen tastes right.
9
The cut stump puts out a green shoot.
The seed did not run out.
Whatever this is, it goes on.
THE IMAGE
A grand, serene traditional estate with interlocking courtyards, sweeping tiled eaves, tranquil carp ponds, and solid stone foundation pillars where scholars study peacefully in libraries and children play in shady gardens.
THE COMMENTARY
The question concerns the place where life is being held: a home, family, organization, role, routine, community, or any structure within which people must live together over time. Dwelling asks whether that structure actually supports the lives entrusted to it.
A good dwelling depends less on display than on ordinary order. People know where they stand, essential needs are met, responsibilities pass properly from one person to another, and the whole arrangement moves in a shared direction.
Disorder in the dwelling rarely stays confined there. When basic functions are neglected or roles become confused, the effects spread outward. Attend to the house before trying to govern the world beyond it.
This figure is one of 81 in Taixuanjing for Today, a book by Joe Perez that renders Yang Xiong’s Canon of Supreme Mystery in original verse, with expanded commentary, essays, and full instructions for casting the oracle yourself.