第17卦
隨
Suí
Following
上卦
兌 Duì
Lake — Joyous
下卦
震 Zhèn
Thunder — Arousing
经典文本
彖辞
元亨利貞。无咎。
象辞
澤中有雷，隨。君子以嚮晦入宴息。
爻辞
第初爻
初九 官有渝。貞吉。出門交有功。
第二爻
六二 係小子。失丈夫。
第三爻
六三 係丈夫。失小子。隨有求得。利居貞。
第四爻
九四 隨有獲。貞凶。有孚在道以明。何咎。
第五爻
九五 孚于嘉。吉。
第上爻
上六 拘係之。乃從維之。王用亨于西山。
The Dance Class
Edgar Degas, 1874
Following
In a Paris Opera rehearsal room, young dancers position themselves before their ballet master. Edgar Degas painted this scene in 1874, capturing the moment when students adjust their posture, waiting for correction. The elderly instructor leans on his staff, observing. One dancer practices at the barre while others rest or stretch—bodies learning to replicate movements demonstrated again and again.
阅读完整论述 ↓
This is Suí (隨), Following. The hexagram shows Lake (Duì) above Thunder (Zhèn)—joyful expression resting over arousing movement. In Zhou Dynasty divination practice, this configuration appeared when someone needed to align themselves with a teacher, a seasonal change, or a larger pattern already in motion. The lake follows the contours of the land beneath it; thunder's energy moves through the dancer's body as learned form. Following here means adaptation, not submission—the way water follows gravity while remaining itself. Degas painted over 1,500 works featuring ballet dancers during his career, documenting the Paris Opera's rehearsal rooms. This painting shows young dancers receiving instruction from their ballet master, practicing movements that they must learn to replicate. The scene captures the relationship between teacher and students inherent to classical ballet training. The Judgment text addresses the rehearsal room directly: "Following has supreme success. Perseverance furthers. No blame." The dancers follow their master's instruction because they seek what he possesses—technique refined over decades. But the text adds a condition: following must be voluntary and have direction. Ancient diviners understood that proper following requires discernment about whom or what to follow. The ballet master earned his authority through mastery; the students choose to follow because they recognize authentic skill. The Image Text observes: "Thunder in the middle of the lake: the image of Following. Thus the superior man at nightfall goes indoors for rest and recuperation." Even committed following has natural limits—night follows day, rest follows exertion. Degas painted dancers at practice, not performance, showing the private work of alignment that happens away from the public eye. In the I-Ching's sequence, Following comes after Enthusiasm: after the initial excitement of beginning, the student settles into the patient repetition that builds skill. The next hexagram is Work on What Has Been Spoiled—when following becomes mere imitation without understanding, corruption enters.
焦氏易林
焦延寿《易林》——第17卦本卦之辞。西汉时期以四言诗阐释卦变，为最早的系统性易学占辞集。
鳥鳴東西，迎其群侶；不得自專，空返獨還。
澤中有雷，鳥鳴東西，四處呼喚同伴。
阅读完整注释 ↓
澤中有雷，鳥鳴東西，四處呼喚同伴。然不得自專，無法主導聚合，空返獨還——獨自歸來，一無所獲。此為隨遇隨——本卦重疊。鳥即純粹追隨者之化身：渴望群體卻無自立之能，四方呼喚而不設集結之點。從隨至隨，教訓自反：純粹之順從若無錨定之處，便成漫無目的之漂泊。唯隨不立者永不能召集同行；鳥所尋之群伴，絕不會聚攏於一個無所指引的聲音周圍。
English commentary
Thunder rests within the lake, and a bird calls east and west, seeking its flock. Yet it cannot take the lead on its own terms and returns alone, empty-handed. This is Following turning upon itself — the hexagram doubled, Sui meeting Sui. The bird embodies the follower who longs for community but lacks the initiative to form it: calling in all directions, it waits for others to gather rather than establishing a rallying point. From Following to Following, the lesson is recursive: pure adaptiveness without anchor becomes aimless. One who only follows can never convene; the flock the bird seeks will never assemble around a voice that offers no direction.