Hexagram 3: Zhūn (Difficulty at the Beginning)

The Judgment

Zhun (indicates that in the case which it presupposes) there will be great progress and success, and the advantage will come from being correct and firm. (But) any movement in advance should not be (lightly) undertaken. There will be advantage in appointing feudal princes.

屯：元，亨，利，贞。勿用有攸往，利建侯。

Commentary on the Judgment (Tuan)

In Zhun we have the strong (Qian) and the weak (Kun) commencing their intercourse, and difficulties arising. Movement in the midst of peril gives rise to 'great progress and success, (through) firm correctness.' By the action of the thunder and rain, (which are symbols of Kan and Zhen), all (between heaven and earth) is filled up. But the condition of the time is full of irregularity and obscurity. Feudal princes should be established, but the feeling that rest and peace have been secured should not be indulged (even then).

彖曰：屯，刚柔始交而难生，动乎险中，大亨贞。雷雨之动满盈，天造草昧，宜建侯而不宁。

The Great Image

(The trigram representing) clouds and (that representing) thunder form Zhun. The superior man, in accordance with this, (adjusts his measures of government) as in sorting the threads of the warp and woof.

象曰：云，雷，屯；君子以经纶。

The six lines

1. Line 1 (first): The first NINE, undivided, shows the difficulty (its subject has) in advancing. It will be advantageous for him to abide correct and firm; advantageous (also) to be made a feudal ruler.

   Although 'there is a difficulty in advancing,' the mind (of the subject of the line) is set on doing what is correct. While noble, he humbles himself to the mean, and grandly gains the people.

   In plain words: Hesitating and unable to move on; it is favourable to stay put and remain correct, and favourable to appoint feudal princes. The word for hesitating pictures circling without advancing; some read its first character as a boulder blocking the way. The first line is yang at the very bottom and is traditionally counted as the line that makes the hexagram: it has ability but stands at a hard beginning, so it does not rush. The Small Image says that although it hesitates, its aims and conduct stay upright, and that by placing its nobility beneath the humble it wins the people's hearts.

   初九：磐桓；利居贞，利建侯。 象曰：虽磐桓，志行正也。以贵下贱，大得民也。

2. Line 2 (second): The second SIX, divided, shows (its subject) distressed and obliged to return; (even) the horses of her chariot (also) seem to be retreating. (But) not by a spoiler (is she assailed), but by one who seeks her to be his wife. The young lady maintains her firm correctness, and declines a union. After ten years she will be united, and have children.

   The difficulty (to the subject of) the second six, (divided), arises from, its place over the undivided line below it. 'The union and children after ten years' shows things resuming their regular course.

   In plain words: Hard going and turning in circles; the horse and rider go round and round. They are not robbers but suitors; the young woman stays firm and will not be betrothed, and only after ten years is she betrothed. The second line corresponds to the fifth, but the first line presses close from below, which is why things are hard. The Small Image says its difficulty is that it rides on the firm first line, and that betrothal after ten years is a return to the normal course.

   六二：屯如邅如，乘马班如。匪寇婚媾，女子贞不字，十年乃字。 象曰：六二之难，乘刚也。十年乃字，反常也。

3. Line 3 (third): The third SIX, divided, shows one following the deer without (the guidance of) the forester, and only finding himself in the midst of the forest. The superior man, acquainted with the secret risks, thinks it better to give up the chase. If he went forward, he would regret it.

   'One pursues the deer without the (guidance of the) forester:' - (he does so) in (his eagerness to) follow the game. 'The superior man gives up the chase, (knowing that) if he go forward he will regret it:' - he would be reduced to extremity.

   In plain words: Chasing a deer without a forester to guide you only leads deeper into the forest. The noble person sees the signs and would rather give up; going on brings regret. The forester was the official who knew the hills and woods, and "sees the signs" means noticing the first small hints. The third line is weak, neither central nor correct, and has no support, so a rash chase only gets it stuck. The Small Image says chasing without a guide is greed for the game, and the noble person gives it up because going on leads to a dead end.

   六三：即鹿无虞，惟入于林中，君子几，不如舍，往吝。 象曰：即鹿无虞，以从禽也。君子舍之，往吝穷也。

4. Line 4 (fourth): The fourth SIX, divided, shows (its subject as a lady), the horses of whose chariot appear in retreat. She seeks, however, (the help of) him who seeks her to be his wife. Advance will be fortunate; all will turn out advantageously.

   'Going forward after such a search (for a helper)' shows intelligence.

   In plain words: The horse and rider go round and round; going to seek a match brings good fortune, and nothing fails. The fourth line corresponds to the first. Not strong enough alone, it goes to ask the able first line for help, and so things can be done. The Small Image says that going out to seek is clear-sighted.

   六四：乘马班如，求婚媾，往吉，无不利。 象曰：求而往，明也。

5. Line 5 (fifth): The fifth NINE, undivided, shows the difficulties in the way of (its subject's) dispensing the rich favours that might be expected from him. With firmness and correctness there will be good fortune in small things; (even) with them in great things there will be evil.

   'Difficulty is experienced (by the subject of the fifth line) in bestowing his rich favours:' - the extent to which they reach will not yet be conspicuous.

   In plain words: Blessings are held back and hard to spread; in small matters, steadiness brings good fortune; in great matters, holding on brings misfortune. "Blessings" means favour and bounty, and holding them back means they cannot be given out. The fifth line holds the place of honour but is caught in the danger of the upper trigram, while the hearts of those below lean toward the first line, so progress has to be slow. The Small Image says the blessings have not yet spread widely.

   九五：屯其膏，小贞吉，大贞凶。 象曰：屯其膏，施未光也。

6. Line 6 (sixth (top)): The topmost SIX, divided, shows (its subject) with the horses of his chariot obliged to retreat, and weeping tears of blood in streams.

   'He weeps tears of blood in streams:' - how can the state (thus emblemed) continue long?

   In plain words: The horse and rider go round and round, weeping tears of blood. The top line is at the end of the hexagram, weak and without support, with no way forward or back, so its grief is extreme. The Small Image asks how such weeping could last long: when hardship reaches its end, the situation is about to change.

   上六：乘马班如，泣血涟如。 象曰：泣血涟如，何可长也。

Line positions

5 of the six lines stand in their proper place (strong lines in odd places, weak lines in even places).

The second and fifth lines hold the central places of the lower and upper trigrams; being one strong and one weak, they correspond, and both are also in their proper places.

Of the three pairs of corresponding places (first and fourth, second and fifth, third and top), 2 pairs are made of one strong and one weak line.

Strong lines belong in odd places and weak lines in even places; the second and fifth are the central places; first and fourth, second and fifth, third and top correspond, and they "respond" when one is strong and the other weak.

These are structural conventions, not scores of good or bad fortune. Commentators differ: Wang Bi treats the first and top places as beginning and end without fixed yin or yang positions. Read each line with its Small Image and the whole hexagram.

Place in Jing Fang's eight palaces

Jing Fang grouped the 64 hexagrams into eight "palaces" of eight, each headed by a doubled trigram. Changing the lines of the head hexagram one by one from the bottom gives the next five; the last two are the "wandering soul" and "returning soul" hexagrams. The Kan palace runs: Kǎn (head), Jié (1st change), Zhūn (2nd change), Jì Jì (3rd change), Gé (4th change), Fēng (5th change), Míng Yí (wandering soul), Shī (returning soul).

A recorded case from Takashima

Zhun to Sui: one of Ōkura's men asks about his prospects: An employee of Ōkura Kihachirō asked Takashima about his fortunes and received the fourth line of Zhun, "the horses pull apart; seek a match". Takashima read it as: the one above will not take your plans, so turn to the first line below for help.

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English text: James Legge, The Yi King (Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16, 1882), public domain, as transcribed by the Chinese Text Project. Chinese: the received text. Offered for study and reflection, not as prediction.

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