Upper Trigram
乾 Qián
Heaven — Creative
Lower Trigram
震 Zhèn
Thunder — Arousing
Classical Texts
The Judgment
Success through what is genuine and unforced. If your motives aren't straight, you'll encounter obstacles. Nothing good comes from ulterior purposes. The natural state—uncalculated, unmanipulated—is the only foundation for lasting success. Deviate from this and the deviation becomes your problem.
The Lines
Line 1
When your impulse is genuine, act on it. The original movement of an honest heart leads toward what's right. No second-guessing needed here.
Line 2
Work without calculating the harvest. Clear the ground without planning what you'll plant. When you act without scheming, everything you do furthers. Outcome-fixation is the enemy of good work.
Line 3
Undeserved disaster strikes. The tethered ox becomes someone else's gain. This happens—external misfortune that has nothing to do with your character. Don't mistake bad luck for punishment.
Line 4
Hold to what you are. What truly belongs to you cannot be lost even if you throw it away. Authenticity doesn't require protection; it requires expression. Stay with your own nature and ignore the noise.
Line 5
When illness comes from outside and doesn't take root in your character, let it pass without intervention. Don't make it worse by fighting it. Some problems solve themselves if you stop interfering.
Line 6
The wrong time for action, but you push anyway. When circumstances don't support progress, forcing movement leads nowhere good. Wait for the moment that matches your intention.
Yilin: Forest of Changes
From Jiao Yanshou's Forest of Changes (焦氏易林) — the verse for Hexagram 25 in its unchanging form. A Han dynasty collection of four-character verses interpreting every hexagram transformation.
夏臺羑里，湯文厄處。皋陶聽理，岐人悅喜。西望華夏，東歸無咎。
Xia Tai and Youli; where Tang and Wen met their trials. Gao Yao judged with discernment; the people of Qi rejoiced. Looking west toward Huaxia; returning east, no fault.
Read full commentary ↓
Xiatai and Youli — the prisons where King Tang and King Wen endured unjust captivity before founding their dynasties. Gao Yao, the legendary minister of justice, listens and adjudicates, and the people of Qi rejoice. Looking west toward the central kingdoms, then returning east without blame. From Innocence to Innocence, the self-referential transformation doubles the hexagram's meaning. Tang and Wen suffered innocent misfortune — the very essence of Wuwang — yet their imprisonment became the crucible of dynastic virtue. Gao Yao's just hearing restores order. The verse encodes Wuwang's complete cycle: the innocent suffer, justice eventually prevails, and one returns home without fault.
中文注释
夏臺羑里——商湯囚於夏臺，文王囚於羑里，皆無辜受難而終成大業。皋陶聽理——上古法官秉公審判——岐人悅喜。西望華夏，東歸無咎。從無妄至無妄，自指之變卦將卦義加倍。湯、文之獄正是無妄之極致——無辜受災——然囹圄反成鍛造王業之熔爐。皋陶之公正聽斷恢復秩序。詩編碼無妄之完整循環：無辜受難，正義終至，歸而無咎。
Related Hexagrams
Same upper trigram: Heaven (乾)