A source-first reading note for Hexagram 46, Sheng (Pushing Upward), with a reference translation, trigram frame, and one reversible observation practice.
Reference translation
Ascending: Sublime success. It furthers one to see the great man. Fear not. Setting forth toward the bright South brings good fortune. The Tuan says: The yielding ascends in its due season. Gentle and devoted, the firm holds the center and finds response — thus great success. "It furthers one to see the great man, fear not" — there is cause for rejoicing. "Setting forth toward the South brings good fortune" — the will is carried through. The Image says: Within the earth, wood grows: the image of Ascending. Thus the superior man, following virtue, heaps up the small to attain the high and great.
See the original-text and authority layers in the complete catalog entry.
Context from the authority layer
"Entering" is the basic premise of the Sheng hexagram, and "compliance" is its favorable condition. To enter and be able to comply, and through compliance to be able to "ascend"—"entering" and "compliance" together constitute the essential characteristics of the Sheng hexagram. In terms of the hexagram image, "entering" and "compliance" symbolize the flourishing, vibrant state of nature, yet the hexagram statement weaves the moving scenes of this natural state into the behavioral characteristics of human beings, thereby giving rise to the auspicious phrases "it is beneficial to see a great person" and "marching south brings good fortune.
Read the structure before the slogan
The lower trigram is 巽 (风), associated in the bundled corpus with 入; the upper trigram is 坤 (地), associated with 顺. Read the lower trigram as the inner or starting field and the upper trigram as the outward field before turning the pattern into advice.
One accountable observation practice
Copy one concrete verb, condition, or image from the reference translation for Hexagram 46. Name one place where it is observable in the situation you are examining. Then choose one small step you can reverse and write the condition that would make you review it.
Common misread to avoid
Do not turn Pushing Upward into a personality label, a guaranteed event, or a verdict about another person. The translation and trigram frame are source layers to examine, not an instruction to surrender judgment.
Source boundary
The reference translation and context are drawn from Yarrow's bundled structured Zhouyi authority layer. Yarrow keeps that layer separate from optional modern reflection. This page does not claim that Hexagram 46 was cast for your question.