Hexagram 34: Dà Zhuàng (Great Power)
雷天大壮 · 第 34 卦 · Thunder over Heaven · 中文版
The Judgment
Da Zhuang indicates that (under the conditions which it symbolises) it will be advantageous to be firm and correct.
大壮：利贞。
Commentary on the Judgment (Tuan)
In Da Zhuang we see that which is great becoming strong. We have the (trigram) denoting strength directing that which denotes movement, and hence (the whole) is expressive of vigour. 'Da Zhuang indicates that it will be advantageous to be firm and correct:' - that which is great (should be) correct. Given correctness and greatness (in their highest degree), and the character and tendencies of heaven and earth can be seen.
彖曰：大壮，大者壮也。刚以动，故壮。大壮利贞，大者正也。正大而天地之情可见矣！
The Great Image
(The trigram representing) heaven and above it that for thunder form Da Zhuang. The superior man, in accordance with this, does not take a step which is not according to propriety.
象曰：雷在天上，大壮；君子以非礼弗履。
The six lines
Line 1 (first): The first NINE, undivided, shows its subject manifesting his strength in his toes. But advance will lead to evil,--most certainly.
'He manifests his vigour in his toes:' - this will certainly lead to exhaustion.
In plain words: Strength in the toes: setting out brings misfortune, that is certain. The first line is at the bottom, strong but lowly and eager to advance. The Small Image says such advance will surely run out.
初九：壮于趾，征凶，有孚。 象曰：壮于趾，其孚穷也。
Line 2 (second): The second NINE, undivided, shows that with firm correctness there will be good fortune.
'The second NINE, (undivided), shows that with firm correctness there will be good fortune:' - this is due to its being in the centre, (and its subject exemplifying the due mean).
In plain words: Steadfastness brings good fortune. The second line is yang in a yin place, strong but flexible, central in the lower trigram and corresponding to the fifth; in a time of great strength it does not use its strength rashly. The Small Image says this is because it keeps to the middle.
九二：贞吉。 象曰：九二贞吉，以中也。
Line 3 (third): The third NINE, undivided, shows, in the case of a small man, one using all his strength; and in the case of a superior man, one whose rule is not to do so. Even with firm correctness the position would be perilous. (The exercise of strength in it might be compared to the case of) a ram butting against a fence, and getting his horns entangled.
'The small man uses all his strength; in the case of the superior man it is his rule not to do so.'
In plain words: The petty person uses strength; the noble person does not; holding on is dangerous. A ram butts a fence and gets its horns caught. The third line has gone past the middle in strength and loves a fight. The Small Image says the petty person relies on strength, and the noble person does not do this.
九三：小人用壮，君子用罔，贞厉。羝羊触藩，羸其角。 象曰：小人用壮，君子罔也。
Line 4 (fourth): The fourth NINE, undivided, shows (a case in which) firm correctness leads to good fortune, and occasion for repentance disappears. (We see) the fence opened without the horns being entangled. The strength is like that in the wheel-spokes of a large waggon.
'The fence is opened and the horns are not entangled:' - (the subject of the line) still advances.
In plain words: Steadfastness brings good fortune and regret vanishes; the fence gives way and the horns are not caught; strength lies in the axle block of a great cart, which runs steadily. The fourth line is yang in a yin place, strong but flexible, and the fifth and top lines ahead are yin: the way is open. The Small Image says it may go forward.
九四：贞吉悔亡，藩决不羸，壮于大舆之輹。 象曰：藩决不羸，尚往也。
Line 5 (fifth): The fifth SIX, divided, shows one who loses his ram(-like strength) in the ease of his position. (But) there will be no occasion for repentance.
'He loses his ram and hardly perceives it:' - he is not in his appropriate place.
In plain words: Losing the ram without noticing: no regret. Some read the key word as ease or carelessness, others as a field boundary; some scholars see here the story of the Shang ancestor Wang Hai losing his flocks among the Yi people. The ram stands for strength; the fifth line, yielding in the place of honour, stops forcing things and lightly lets its forcefulness go. The Small Image says its position is not proper.
六五：丧羊于易，无悔。 象曰：丧羊于易，位不当也。
Line 6 (sixth (top)): The sixth SIX, divided, shows (one who may be compared to) the ram butting against the fence, and unable either to retreat, or to advance as he would fain do. There will not be advantage in any respect; but if he realise the difficulty (of his position), there will be good fortune.
'He is unable either to retreat or to advance:' - this is owing to his want of care. 'If he realise the difficulty (of his position), there will be good fortune:' - his error will not be prolonged.
In plain words: The ram butts the fence and can neither back away nor push through; nothing is gained; recognising the difficulty brings good fortune. The top line is at the far end of great strength, stuck with no way back. The Small Image says being unable to go forward or back comes from not thinking things through, and that recognising the difficulty is fortunate: the fault will not last.
上六：羝羊触藩，不能退，不能遂，无攸利，艰则吉。 象曰：不能退，不能遂，不详也。艰则吉，咎不长也。
Line positions
3 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.
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.
| Line | Proper place | Central | Corresponds with |
|---|---|---|---|
| top (weak) | yes | — | 3rd line: yes |
| 5th (weak) | — | yes | 2nd line: yes |
| 4th (strong) | — | — | 1st line: no |
| 3rd (strong) | yes | — | top line: yes |
| 2nd (strong) | — | yes | 5th line: yes |
| 1st (strong) | yes | — | 4th line: no |
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 Kun palace runs: Kūn (head), Fù (1st change), Lín (2nd change), Tài (3rd change), Dà Zhuàng (4th change), Guài (5th change), Xū (wandering soul), Bǐ (returning soul).
The twelve waxing and waning hexagrams
This is one of the twelve "waxing and waning" hexagrams, matched to the second month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The series starts from Fu, with one strong line returning at the bottom, grows to Qian, then gives way to weak lines until Kun, tracing the rise and fall of yang through the year; it belongs to the Han-dynasty gua qi system of Meng Xi and Jing Fang.
A recorded case from Takashima
Da Zhuang to Feng: leading a company flush with capital: A company president asked about his fortunes and received the second line of Da Zhuang, "steadfastness brings good fortune". Takashima said the company had capital enough to do great things, but its president should temper strength with gentleness and action with calm, work unhurriedly and not chase quick results; in two years, at the fourth line, there would be large profits.
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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.