Zizhi Plays with Mud — The Story of the Qian Hexagram: *The dragon appears in the field; it is favorable to meet the great person.*

In the final years of the Yin dynasty, Zhaoge was steeped in extravagance and dissipation. Yet in the registered fields on the outskirts of the Yin capital, there was a low-ranking noble named Zi Zhi who was "playing with mud."

Though Zi Zhi was merely a *tianjun* (field officer), he had clear, refined features and an extraordinary bearing. Unlike others who only knew how to urge slaves to work, he personally measured irrigation ditches and drew water system maps. One day, Shang Yan, a high minister, was ordered to inspect the royal domain. When his carriage reached the outskirts of Yin, he spotted a young man standing on a ridge, using a twig to draw complex diagrams of irrigation channels in the mud.

Shang Yan, a man of lofty and unworldly temperament, saw this field officer "doodling" instead of attending to his duties. He stepped down from his carriage, strolled over, and asked with a touch of mockery: "Is this painting of yours in the mud perhaps a talisman for sacrificing to the rain god? If you seek rain, why not simply slaughter a few oxen? What use is there in drawing all these ditches and ridges?"

Zi Zhi brushed the mud off his hands, looked up, and saw that the visitor was a high court official. He showed no sign of panic, but instead cupped his hands in salute and smiled: "With all due respect, my lord. Slaughtering oxen to beg for rain may sate the rain god, but the fields will still thirst. What I draw here are channels to divert water. Ox bones may be used to divine good and ill fortune, but these ditches in the mud can guarantee a harvest of ten thousand *dan* of grain in autumn. If my lord finds this mud offensive to the eye, I shall wipe it away at once."

At these words, Shang Yan was not angered in the least. Instead, he was amused by this reply that was neither yielding nor aggressive, yet laced with subtle barbs. He bent down to examine the mud diagram closely, and discovered that the direction of the water veins and the principles of storage and discharge within it secretly accorded with the way of Heaven — this was by no means empty theorizing.

"What is your name?" Shang Yan set aside his contempt and asked with a solemn expression.

"I am Zi Zhi, field officer of the Yin outskirts."

Shang Yan stroked his beard and laughed heartily: "A fine fellow, this Zi Zhi! If the nobles in Zhaoge, who spout nothing but ghosts, spirits, and court rituals, had half your pragmatism, what cause would the Great City Shang have to worry about its stability? You are a 'mud loach' that will never be content to stay in a mere pond. Come with me to court tomorrow — the king is in great need of a minister to oversee grain administration."

Zi Zhi was slightly taken aback, then composed his features and bowed deeply: "I, your servant, obey your command."

Shang Yan mounted his carriage and departed, kicking up a cloud of dust. Zi Zhi straightened up, gazed in the direction where the carriage had disappeared, then looked down at the water diagram he had just drawn at his feet. He knew that leaving these fields and stepping into Zhaoge, a city tangled with schemes and power struggles, would be the true test.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled over the wilderness on the Yin outskirts, and golden waves of wheat rippled in the wind. The *qianlong* (hidden dragon) has already appeared in the fields, yet to soar from the abyss, it must still ride upon the wind and cloud of a great man. Whether this wind and cloud will bring sweet rain or raging gales remains to be seen in the morning light of Zhaoge tomorrow.