明白: What Clarity Means in the I Ching
What does 明白 mean in Mandarin?
明白 (míngbai) is the word for clarity in spoken Mandarin, and it doesn't mean bright the way a single character may suggest to an anglophone. It means to understand, to see a thing plainly, the moment insight comes to an otherwise occluded mind. 明 (míng) on its own describes light, sun and moon set side by side, the notion of solar and lunar illumination. 明白 takes that light and turns it into comprehension, adds 白 (bái), plain, clear, laid bare, and the two together describe light landing being received. The reception of light denotes relationality, clarity comes through an animated interplay between two or more parties.
This is the word I grew up hearing and speaking.
The I Ching Is a Map, Of Every Position That Already (and Could) Ever Exist
What this means for the hexagrams
Every hexagram is a corner of that shape. I don’t mean this metaphorically. Yes the hexagrams are presented as symbols, but in reality, they not only take up space, they are space. A specific and unique position on a hypercubed map.
Each corner has exactly six neighbours. Those six neighbours are the six hexagrams you can reach by changing one line. One line changes and you have moved along a single edge to the immediately adjacent position. Two lines change and you are two edges away. Six lines change and you have crossed the entire diameter of the space, from one corner to the corner furthest from it.