The Superior Man
In this interpretation the superior man is treated as a creative individual. The individual has a place in the collective whole around him or her. Individuality is both a male and a female standard, but the group is made up of many individuals. It takes freedom and independence to be an individual. It takes responsibility, commitment, vulnerability and teamwork to be part of a group. Even if one is the most superior individual, the group, like a chain, is only as strong as the weakest link.
The interpretation is based on the individual having a relationship to themselves and to others. They will run into freedom and responsibility. How these factors are met and dealt with, will determine how much confidence and how much guilt is accumulated. The text holds to the essential concept of the I Ching – “no blame!”. The advice in the hexagrams is geared toward accumulating “no blame”, but from the perspective of all individuals and not exclusively the superior man.
The concept of the superior man and his virtue seems to be a naive projection on the scheme of life and into the nature of the changes.
In this text emphasis is on humility and silent integrity. The individual as a receptive vulnerable mother is just as important as any superior man and his virtue!
There are no references to “he” or “she” in the text. “He” and “she” have been replaced by “one”, as in “One does this or one does that”.
The dogma of the superior man and the implications of his virtue or lack thereof is not included. All of the interpretations come from basic I Ching fundamentals.