Eighty-th first poem: Diligence (Great Snow)

勤：太陰凍冱戁創於外，微陽邸冥膐力於內。

"Qin" means diligence, and it is the eighty-first section, corresponding to the time of Major Snow, governing the period from three hundred and fifty-five and a half days after the winter solstice to three hundred and sixty days. The extreme yin energy is frozen and sealed, causing pain on the outside; the weak yang energy resides in darkness, accumulating strength within. This section discusses diligence: diligence in physical strength and righteousness is virtue, but diligence in private schemes and futile labor is a flaw.

初一：勤謀於心，否貞。測曰：勤謀否貞，中不正也。次二：勞有恩，勤悾悾，君子有中。測曰：勞有恩勤，有諸情也。次三：羈角之吾，其泣呱呱，未得鏹扶。測曰：羈角之吾，不得命也。

First day: Only calculating in mind, not upright. The divination says: Diligent planning but not uprightness, meaning the heart is originally not upright. Second day: Hard work accompanied by kindness, diligent and sincere, the gentleman thus conforms to the middle path. The divination says: Labor with kindness and diligence, meaning the heart indeed holds this genuine feeling. Third day: A child with a topknot on his head is crying loudly, but does not receive strong support. The divination says: The child with a topknot, meaning the time has not yet arrived.

次四：勤於力，放倍忘食，大人有克。測曰：勤力忘食，大人德也。次五：狂蹇蹇，禍邇福遠。測曰：狂之蹇蹇，遠乎福也。次六：勤有成功，幾於天。測曰：勤有成功，天所來輔也。

The fourth reading: diligent effort, working double the amount and forgetting to eat, thus the superior person can achieve something. The interpretation says: diligent effort and forgetting to eat, this is the virtue of the superior person; the Analects records Confucius forgetting to eat in his pursuit of learning, which is exactly this situation. The fifth reading: being impetuous and encountering difficulties everywhere, misfortune is approaching while good fortune is far away. The interpretation says: being impetuous and struggling, this is getting further and further away from good fortune; being diligent in impetuousness, the more diligent, the more difficult the situation becomes. The sixth reading: diligent effort leading to success, close to the way of heaven. The interpretation says: diligent effort leading to success, is the assistance of heaven.

次七：勞牽，不其鼻於尾，弊。測曰：勞牽之弊，其道逆也。次八：勞踖踖，心爽蒙柴不卻。測曰：勞踖踖，躬殉國也。次九：其勤其勤，抱車入淵，負舟上山。測曰：其勤其勤，勞不得也。

Section seven: Struggling hard to lead the animal, yet not leading by the nose but pulling by the tail, which is a mistake. The divination says: The trouble of leading is due to the wrong approach; no matter how much effort is put in, if the direction is wrong, it is all in vain. Section eight: Toiling to the point of being restless, knowing clearly yet still carrying firewood on one's back without retreating. The divination says: Toiling anxiously, it is like sacrificing one's life for the country. Section nine: Working hard again and again, carrying the cart into the abyss and shouldering the boat up the mountain. The divination says: Working so hard, it is labor without gain; striving to the extreme yet without the right method, only resulting in a futile effort.

養：陰弸於野，陽蓲萬物，赤之於下。

"Yang" signifies nurturing, and it is the eighty-first section, also the last section of the entire text, corresponding to the time of heavy snow, governing the period from 360 days to 364 and a half days after the winter solstice. At this time, the yin energy fills the fields, while the yang energy warms and nurtures all things, spreading vitality beneath the earth. The total of eighty-one sections accounts for 364 and a half days, with two additional lines, "Qi" and "Ying," completing the count of a full year. The text begins with "Zhong" (center) and ends with "Yang," symbolizing the emergence of yang energy from beneath the earth, nurturing all things, and the cycle of renewal.

初一：藏心於淵，美厥靈根。測曰：藏心於淵，神不外也。次二：墨養邪，元函匪貞。測曰：墨養邪，中心敗也。次三：糞以肥丘，育厥根荄。測曰：糞以肥丘，中光大也。

On the first day: Keep the mind hidden in the deep abyss, nurture the subtle root so that it becomes refined. The divination says: To hide the mind in the abyss, is to prevent the spirit from scattering outward. On the second day: Nurturing evil thoughts secretly, the initial thing concealed is not right. The divination says: To secretly foster evil, is to have the inner self already corrupted. On the third day: Use manure to enrich the hill field, cultivate its roots. The divination says: To use manure to enrich the hill, is to make the inner part flourish; to nurture on the roots, is to nurture the growth outward.

次四：燕食扁扁，其志（亻）玃玃，利用徵賈。測曰：燕食扁扁，志在賴也。次五：黃心在腹，白骨生肉，孚德不復。測曰：黃心在腹，上德天也。次六：次次，一日三餼，祇牛之兆，肥不利。測曰：次次之餼，肥無身也。

Next four: Eating in comfort, behavior is frivolous, but the mind is uncertain, favorable for traveling to trade. The divination says: "The swallow eats flatly," meaning the mind relies on others. The original character 「（亻）」 is a character sketched with a radical, and it is recorded as it was originally. Next five: The yellow core in the center is in the abdomen, even the bones have new flesh growing on them, sincere virtue does not change. The divination says: "The yellow core is in the abdomen," meaning virtue conforms to heaven. Next six: One after another, three feedings a day, this is a sign of a sacrificial ox, but being well-fed is actually not favorable. The divination says: "Feeding repeatedly, being fat yet not preserving oneself; overfeeding is exactly the sign of being sacrificed."

次七：小子牽象，婦人徽猛，君子養病。測曰：牽象養病，不相因也。次八：鯁不脫，毒疾發，鬼上壟。測曰：鯁疾之發，歸於墳也。次九：星如歲如，復繼之初。測曰：星如歲如，終養始也。

Next seven: A child goes to lead an elephant, a woman goes to bind a fierce beast, while a gentleman stays at home nursing a sick person. The divination says: Leading an elephant and nursing a sick person are two things that do not match; the one being nursed is not the right person, and the task undertaken is not suitable for the strength. Next eight: A fish bone is stuck in the throat and cannot be removed, a toxic illness occurs, and a ghost has already climbed onto the grave. The divination says: When the bone stuck in the throat becomes an illness, it is as if the illness is returning to the grave. Next nine: Like the movement of stars and the change of years, it again continues back to the beginning. The divination says: Stars and years are like this, nursing until the end and then starting anew. The eighty-one verses end here, and the yearly breath returns to the beginning of the winter solstice, which is called 'zhong' (center), and thus the cycle continues, which is the conclusion of the entire book of the Tai Xuan.