Hexagram 33
遯
Dùn
Retreat
Upper Trigram
乾 Qián
Heaven — Creative
Lower Trigram
艮 Gèn
Mountain — Stillness
Classical Texts
The Judgment
亨。小利貞。
The Image
天下有山,遯。君子以遠小人,不惡而嚴。
The Lines
Line 1
初六 遯尾厲。勿用有攸往。
Line 2
六二 執之用黃牛之革。莫之勝說。
Line 3
九三 係遯。有疾厲。畜臣妾吉。
Line 4
九四 好遯。君子吉。小人否。
Line 5
九五 嘉遯貞吉。
Line 6
上九 肥遯无不利。

Over Eternal Peace
Isaac Levitan, 1894
Retreat
A vast monastery overlooks an expansive river under dramatic clouds in Isaac Levitan's 1894 landscape. The Russian painter positions the viewer at a distance, looking across water toward the elevated spiritual settlement. The monastic complex sits above the concerns of the shore, removed from the river traffic and settlements below. Sky dominates the composition—turbulent clouds sweep across three-quarters of the canvas, dwarfing the human structures that cling to the far bank.
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This is Dùn (遯), the Chinese hexagram of Retreat. Zhou Dynasty diviners saw this configuration when Heaven (Qián) sits above Mountain (Gèn)—creative force withdrawing to higher ground, power that preserves itself through strategic disengagement. The monastery embodies this structure: heaven's clarity elevated on the mountain's stillness, withdrawn from the world yet maintaining presence through visibility. Levitan's panoramic landscape depicts a vast monastery overlooking an expansive river under dramatic clouds. The painting captures withdrawal to elevated spiritual perspective, removed from worldly concerns—the essence of hexagram 33's retreat. The Judgment text addresses timing directly: "Retreat brings success. In what is small, perseverance furthers." Ancient court diviners distinguished withdrawal from defeat. When inferior forces gain strength, the superior person does not engage in direct conflict but steps back to preserve integrity. Song Dynasty commentators noted this hexagram appeared when advisors resigned from corrupt courts, when merchants closed failing ventures, when generals avoided battles that could not be won. Retreat becomes the action that allows return when conditions shift. The Image Text offers unexpected counsel: "Heaven under the mountain: the image of Retreat. Thus the superior man keeps the inferior man at a distance, not angrily but with reserve." Levitan's composition demonstrates this principle—the monastery does not confront the world below but maintains separation through elevation. The massive sky suggests what ancient practitioners understood: retreat creates perspective. From the monastery's vantage, the river patterns become visible, the weather systems legible. In the I-Ching's sequence, Dùn follows Héng (Duration): after establishing what endures, one must know when to withdraw to preserve it. Engagement serves purpose only when conditions permit effectiveness.
Yilin: Forest of Changes
From Jiao Yanshou's Forest of Changes (焦氏易林) — the verse for Hexagram 33 in its unchanging form. A Han dynasty collection of four-character verses interpreting every hexagram transformation.

三塗五岳,陽城太室,神明所保,獨無兵革。
The three passes and Five Sacred Peaks; Yangcheng and Taishi Mountain. What the spirits protect and preserve; alone, free from weapons and war.
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Heaven above the mountain remains as heaven above the mountain — Retreat doubled, the hexagram reflecting upon itself. The Three Tu passes and the Five Sacred Mountains, Yangcheng and Taishi Peak — these are the sacred precincts that the gods themselves protect, and alone they are spared the ravages of war. The Three Tu refers to the strategic mountain passes near Luoyang; Taishi is the main peak of Mount Song, the Central Sacred Mountain, near the ancient site of Yangcheng. These are the heartland of Chinese sacred geography. From Retreat to Retreat, the verse affirms that the most complete withdrawal is the mountain itself — the divine sanctuary where even armies dare not trespass. When retreat is total and principled, it becomes inviolable, a sacred space that needs no defense because its very nature forbids desecration.
中文注释
天下有山,遯之象。三塗五岳——三塗險關與五嶽聖山。陽城太室——陽城與太室山(嵩山主峰)。神明所保——神明護佑之地。獨無兵革——唯此不見兵戈。三塗為洛陽附近要隘,太室為中嶽嵩山主峰,陽城為其所在古邑——皆天下中心、神聖地理之核心。從遯至遯,卦自映自身。退避之極致即聖山本身——神靈庇護,兵革不至。退避若徹底純粹便成不可侵犯之聖域,不須防衛自然免禍。
Related Hexagrams
Same upper trigram: Heaven (乾)
Same lower trigram: Mountain (艮)