Upper Trigram
巽 Xùn
Wind — Gentle
Lower Trigram
離 Lí
Fire — Clinging
Classical Texts
The Judgment
The perseverance of the woman furthers. The laws within the household, transferred to outside life, keep the state and world in order. Influence works from within outward, like wind created by fire. Each position has its proper function. Strong leadership from the head, faithful management of the center. The family is society in embryo.
The Lines
Line 1
Firm seclusion within the family. Remorse disappears. Each member knows their place from the start. Establish order before the child's will is directed elsewhere. Begin late when passions have grown strong and you'll face resistance. Breaking a child's will is easier avoided than accomplished.
Line 2
She should not follow whims but attend within to the food. Persistence brings good fortune. Great duties exist without having to look for them. The center of social and religious life of the family. In general: seek nothing by force; confine yourself to duties at hand.
Line 3
When tempers flare in the family, too great severity brings remorse. Good fortune nonetheless. Laxity leads to disgrace. Build strong dikes within which freedom of movement is allowed. In doubtful cases, err toward strictness. Discipline preserves; weakness destroys.
Line 4
She is the treasure of the house. Great good fortune. Well-being depends on sound balance between expenditure and income. The faithful steward whose measures further general welfare.
Line 5
As a king he approaches his family. Fear not. Good fortune. The fatherly person richly endowed in mind. Nothing to make himself feared—the family trusts him because love governs. Character exercises the right influence without force.
Line 6
His work commands respect. Good fortune in the end. Order depends ultimately on the master's character. Cultivate personality until it works through inner truth. In a ruling position, assume responsibility by your own accord.
Yilin: Forest of Changes
From Jiao Yanshou's Forest of Changes (焦氏易林) — the verse for Hexagram 37 in its unchanging form. A Han dynasty collection of four-character verses interpreting every hexagram transformation.
天命赤烏，與君徼期。征伐无道，誅其君傲，居止何憂？
Heaven commands the red bird, setting the appointed time with the lord. He campaigns against the lawless, executing their arrogant ruler. Where he dwells and rests, what worry is there?
Read full commentary ↓
Wind from fire returns to its own hearth: The Family transforms into itself. Heaven sends the Red Crow as an omen, granting the ruler a fixed appointment. He marches to punish the lawless and executes the arrogant tyrant — then settles peacefully with nothing to fear. The Red Crow (赤烏) is a celebrated portent associated with King Wu of Zhou's conquest of Shang: according to tradition, a fiery bird descended upon the king's tent as confirmation of heaven's mandate. The verse recapitulates the founding myth of proper governance: divine sanction, righteous conquest, and domestic peace. When The Family returns to itself, the message is that true household order rests on mandate from above, executed with justice, and culminating in the simple security of home.
中文注释
風自火出，家人歸於本位。天命赤烏——天降赤色神鳥為兆，與君徼期——授予君主確定之天命。征伐無道——討伐不義之邦，誅其君傲——誅滅驕橫之暴君。居止何憂——安居而無所憂。赤烏為周武王伐紂時之著名祥瑞：據傳火鳥降於武王帳前，確證天命所歸。此詩重述正統治理之開國神話：天命、義征、居安。家人歸於自身，訓示真正之家國秩序立基於天命、行之以正義、歸結為安居之樸素平安。
Related Hexagrams
Same upper trigram: Wind (巽)