Upper Trigram
巽 Xùn
Wind — Gentle
Lower Trigram
巽 Xùn
Wind — Gentle
Classical Texts
The Judgment
Success through what is small. It furthers one to have somewhere to go. It furthers one to see the great man. Penetration produces gradual and inconspicuous effects—not by an act of violation but by influence that never lapses. Results of this kind are less striking than those won by surprise attack, but more enduring and more complete. To produce such effects, you must have a clearly defined goal. Only when influence works always in the same direction can the object be attained. Small strength can achieve its purpose only by subordinating itself to an eminent person capable of creating order.
The Lines
Line 1
In advancing and in retreating, the persistence of a warrior furthers. Inborn gentleness is often carried to the point of indecisiveness. A thousand doubts crop up. In such a situation, military decisiveness is proper—resolutely do what order demands. Resolute discipline is far better than irresolute license.
Line 2
Penetration under the bed. Priests and magicians are used in great number. Good fortune. No blame. At times you must deal with hidden enemies, intangible influences that slink into dark corners and affect people by suggestion. Trace these things back to their most secret recesses. When such elusive influences are brought into the light and branded, they lose their power over people.
Line 3
Repeated penetration. Humiliation. Penetrating reflection must not be pushed too far, lest it cripple the power of decision. After a matter has been thoroughly pondered, it is essential to form a decision and act. Repeated deliberation brings fresh doubts and scruples, and thereby humiliation, because one shows oneself unable to act.
Line 4
Remorse vanishes. During the hunt three kinds of game are caught. When a responsible position and accumulated experience lead one to combine innate modesty with energetic action, great success is assured. When the catch serves all three purposes—offerings, feasting, and everyday consumption—the hunt was especially successful.
Line 5
Persistence brings good fortune. Remorse vanishes. Nothing that does not further. No beginning, but an end. Before the change, three days. After the change, three days. Good fortune. The moment has been reached when a new direction can be taken. Change and improvement are called for. Such steps must be undertaken with steadfastness. Before a change is made, it must be pondered over again and again. After the change, note carefully how improvements bear the test of actuality.
Line 6
Penetration under the bed. He loses his property and his ax. Persistence brings misfortune. Your understanding is sufficiently penetrating. You follow up injurious influences into the most secret corners. But you no longer have the strength to combat them decisively. Any attempt to penetrate into the personal domain of darkness would only bring harm.
Yilin: Forest of Changes
From Jiao Yanshou's Forest of Changes (焦氏易林) — the verse for Hexagram 57 in its unchanging form. A Han dynasty collection of four-character verses interpreting every hexagram transformation.
溫山松柏，常茂不落。鸞鳳以庇，得其歡樂。
Pine and cypress on Wen Mountain; ever flourishing, never falling. Phoenix and luan find shelter there; gaining their joy and delight.
Read full commentary ↓
Wind upon wind returns to wind upon wind: the Gentle remains itself. On the warm mountain, pine and cypress stand evergreen, never shedding their leaves. Phoenix and luan birds shelter among them, finding their joy and contentment. The doubled wind of Xun sustaining itself produces an image of permanence within flexibility. Pine and cypress are classical symbols of constancy — they endure winter's harshest blasts while deciduous trees go bare. The phoenix choosing to roost among them validates their worthiness: only the noblest tree attracts the noblest bird. From The Gentle to The Gentle, the pattern is self-reinforcing: wind follows wind without interruption, commands issued and carried through. Steady virtue, like the evergreen, needs no revolution — only persistence.
中文注释
隨風巽，巽復為巽，風行不息。溫山松柏，常茂不落——溫潤之山上松柏長青，四季不凋。鸞鳳以庇，得其歡樂——鸞鳳棲息其間，怡然自得。巽風自行相續，生成柔韌中之恆常。松柏為堅貞之經典象徵——寒冬凜冽中挺立不凋，落葉木盡褪而松柏獨青。鳳凰擇此而棲，正驗其高潔——唯最尊之木方引最貴之禽。從巽復歸於巽，此為自我強化之格局：風繼以風，號令既出必行。恆常之德如松柏，無需革新，唯在不輟。
Related Hexagrams
Same upper trigram: Wind (巽)
Same lower trigram: Wind (巽)