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Rooster and Hen with Hydrangeas
䷶

Hexagram 55

豐

Fēng

Abundance

Rooster and Hen with Hydrangeas — Itō Jakuchū (伊藤若冲), 1759

Itō Jakuchū painted a vivid scene of a rooster and hen beneath blooming hydrangeas, azaleas, and roses in 1759. The male bird's plumage explodes in brilliant detail—red comb, iridescent tail feathers, sharp spurs catching light. The female's quieter tones complement rather than compete. Above them, flowers mass in layered abundance: purple hydrangea clusters, pink azalea blooms, white roses opening. This scroll formed part of Jakuchū's thirty-painting series "Colorful Realm of Living Beings," created for Kyoto's Shōkoku-ji temple. Every inch teems with life at its fullest expression—feathers, petals, leaves rendered with obsessive precision.

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This is Fēng (豐), the Chinese hexagram of Abundance. The character originally depicted a ritual vessel overflowing with offerings, representing fullness and prosperity at their zenith. Ancient diviners saw this configuration when Thunder (Zhèn) sits above Fire (Li): movement combines with clarity to produce maximum yang energy at peak expression. Jakuchū's painting demonstrates this principle through accumulated visual richness—the rooster's display, the hen's fertility, the garden's bloom all coinciding in a single moment of culminating plenty. Jakuchū painted this vivid scene of a rooster and hen beneath blooming hydrangeas, azaleas, and roses. The male bird's brilliant plumage contrasts with the female's quieter tones, creating visual abundance. Part of his 30-scroll 'Paintings of Animals and Plants' series, the work exemplifies hexagram 55's theme of fullness and prosperity. The Judgment declares: "Abundance has success. The king attains abundance. Be not sad. Be like the sun at midday." The ancient text counsels against sadness during abundance because fullness contains its own warning—the sun at noon begins its descent in the next instant. Jakuchū created this series during Japan's Edo period florescence, when urban merchant culture supported elaborate artistic production. The thirty scrolls took years to complete, each one displaying virtuoso technique and lavish materials. Classical commentaries note that Fēng appears at civilization's peaks—when cultural, material, and political forces align to produce spectacular achievement. Zhou Dynasty texts reference King Wen encountering this hexagram at the height of his power. The Image Text states: "Both thunder and lightning come: the image of Abundance. Thus the superior man decides lawsuits and carries out punishments." Thunder and lightning together create summer storms of maximum intensity—arousing power made visible through brilliant flash. At the peak of abundance, the wise ruler exercises clear judgment precisely because conditions permit decisive action. Jakuchū's technical mastery allows him to render each feather separately, each petal distinctly. Yet abundance requires careful tending—the painting preserves this moment of fullness knowing it cannot last. In the hexagram sequence, Abundance follows The Marrying Maiden: after warning against improper foundations comes the achievement of proper fullness, though even at the zenith, decline waits.

Upper Trigram

☳

震 Zhèn

Thunder — Arousing

ElementWoodDirectionNorthwestFamilyEldest SonQualitiesarousing, movement, shocking

Lower Trigram

☲

離 Lí

Fire — Clinging

ElementFireDirectionEastFamilySecond DaughterQualitiesilluminating, dependent, radiant

Classical Texts

The Judgment

Success. The king attains abundance. Be not sad. Be like the sun at midday. Clarity within, movement without—this produces greatness and abundance. Development has reached a peak, but this extraordinary condition cannot be maintained permanently. Not every mortal is able to bring about such a time. A sage might well feel sad in view of the decline that must follow. But such sadness does not befit them. Only one who is inwardly free of sorrow and care can lead in a time of abundance—like the sun at midday, illuminating and gladdening everything under heaven.

The Lines

Line 1

When a man meets his destined ruler, they can be together ten days, and it is not a mistake. Going meets with recognition. To bring about abundance, a union of clarity with energetic movement is needed. Two individuals with these attributes are suited to each other. Even if they spend an entire cycle of time together during abundance, it will not be too long. Go forth to make your influence felt; it will meet with recognition.

Line 2

The curtain is of such fullness that the polestars can be seen at noon. Through going one meets with mistrust and hate. If one rouses through truth, good fortune comes. Plots and party intrigues have the darkening effect of an eclipse. The ruler is overshadowed by a party that has usurped power. Energetic measures would meet only mistrust and envy. The essential thing is to hold inwardly to the power of truth, which in the end exerts an invisible influence, so that all goes well.

Line 3

The underbrush is of such abundance that the small stars can be seen at noon. He breaks his right arm. No blame. The eclipse reaches totality. Even the most insignificant persons can push themselves to the foreground. This makes it impossible for an able person to undertake anything—as though their arm were broken. But they are not to blame for being thus hindered in action.

Line 4

The curtain is of such fullness that the polestars can be seen at noon. He meets his ruler, who is of like kind. Good fortune. Darkness is already decreasing; interrelated elements come together. The complement must be found—wisdom to complement joy of action. Then everything will go well.

Line 5

Lines are coming. Blessing and fame draw near. Good fortune. The ruler is modest and therefore open to the counsel of able people. Surrounded by those who suggest lines of action. This brings blessing, fame, and good fortune to all.

Line 6

His house is in a state of abundance. He screens off his family. He peers through the gate and no longer perceives anyone. For three years he sees nothing. Misfortune. A person who through arrogance and obstinacy attains the opposite of what they strive for. Seeking abundance and splendor for their dwelling, wishing at all odds to be master in their house, they so alienate their family that in the end they find themselves completely isolated.

Yilin: Forest of Changes

From Jiao Yanshou's Forest of Changes (焦氏易林) — the verse for Hexagram 55 in its unchanging form. A Han dynasty collection of four-character verses interpreting every hexagram transformation.

Yilin artwork for Hexagram 55
諸孺行賈，經涉大阻。與杖為市，不憂危殆。利得十倍。

Young merchants set out trading, crossing great obstacles on the way. With staffs they make their market; undaunted by danger and peril. Profit gained tenfold.

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Thunder and fire converge in Abundance upon itself — the hexagram unchanged. Young merchants set out on a trading venture, crossing great obstacles. They rely on their walking staffs for trade and do not worry about danger. Profits multiply tenfold. When Abundance transforms into itself, the pattern intensifies rather than shifts. The young traders embody Abundance's own energy: vigorous, bold, traversing difficulties with nothing but a staff and commercial instinct. Their fearlessness in the face of hardship yields extraordinary returns. The self-referential transformation suggests that true abundance perpetuates itself — those who fully inhabit the moment of fullness, without hesitation or anxiety, find that prosperity regenerates from within.

中文注释

雷電皆至為豐，豐之豐——卦不變而自化自新，能量凝聚而不散逸。諸孺行賈，經涉大阻重險。與杖為市，不憂危殆，利得十倍。少年商人持杖涉險闖蕩天下，以勇氣與商才獲利十倍而不懼。豐之自我轉化意味著盛之更盛——全然投入豐盛之勢，無懼無疑，繁榮自我再生。此即豐之本色：雷電皆至之時，當其盛而行，莫遲疑莫猶豫，乘勢而動。

Transformations

Hexagram 55 transforming into each of the 64 hexagrams, with Yilin verses.

䷀1䷁2䷂3䷃4䷄5䷅6䷆7䷇8䷈9䷉10䷊11䷋12䷌13䷍14䷎15䷏16䷐17䷑18䷒19䷓20䷔21䷕22䷖23䷗24䷘25䷙26䷚27䷛28䷜29䷝30䷞31䷟32䷠33䷡34䷢35䷣36䷤37䷥38䷦39䷧40䷨41䷩42䷪43䷫44䷬45䷭46䷮47䷯48䷰49䷱50䷲51䷳52䷴53䷵54䷶55䷷56䷸57䷹58䷺59䷻60䷼61䷽62䷾63䷿64

Related Hexagrams

Same upper trigram: Thunder (震)

䷏豫Enthusiasm䷟恆Duration䷡大壯Great Power䷧解Deliverance䷲震The Arousing Thunder䷵歸妹The Marrying Maiden

Same lower trigram: Fire (離)

䷌同人Fellowship䷕賁Grace䷝離The Clinging Fire䷣明夷Darkening of the Light䷤家人The Family䷰革Revolution䷷旅The Wanderer䷾既濟After Completion
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