Zhang Liang Retires to the Mountains
Neutral
The poem
Original: 直上重楼去藏身 / 四围荆棘绕为林 / 天高君命长和短 / 得一反成失二人
The story
Zhang Liang helped Liu Bang defeat Xiang Yu and found the Han dynasty. He understood that his master shared hardship easily but not glory, and would turn on his generals once the empire was won. So he declined honours and withdrew from affairs, vanishing from public life; tradition says he went wandering the mountains with the immortal Master Red Pine.
What it means
The image is of holding to the old and moving with the times. Hide yourself in the upper room, for thorns grow thick around you. The length of a life is not a question anyone may put to heaven, and a gain here costs you two things elsewhere. Brilliance on display is exactly what is dangerous now. Step back, conceal a little, and you preserve what matters. Like a man already drunk, take no more; keep to the old ways until the season turns, and no harm comes.
By area of life
Wealth
Losses are likely in investment. Withdraw and watch. Repentance and generosity are the practical ways of turning the luck around.
Love
A match is slow to come because of old debts. Chasing someone now brings quarrels and a parting, so work on yourself first.
Work
Work is hard to find and business shows a loss. Retrench, cut your exposure, and do not expand under any circumstances.
Health
Long treatment shows little result. Doing no harm, doing good, and settling the mind reduce both the illness and the suffering in it.
Travel
Going abroad is unlucky at present. Making the most of what is in front of you is the sounder course.
Advice
At the height of success, plan your exit; hiding upstairs beats standing on the roof.