Hexagram 38: Kuí (Opposition)

The Judgment

Kui indicates that, (notwithstanding the condition of things which it denotes), in small matters there will (still) be good success.

睽：小事吉。

Commentary on the Judgment (Tuan)

In Kui we have (the symbol of) Fire, which, when moved, tends upwards, and that of a Marsh, whose waters, when moved, tend downwards. We have (also the symbols of) two sisters living together, but whose wills do not move in the same direction. (We see how the inner trigram expressive of) harmonious satisfaction is attached to (the outer expressive of) bright intelligence; (we see) the weak line advanced and acting above, and how it occupies the central place, and is responded to by the strong (line below). These indications show that 'in small matters there will (still) be good fortune.' Heaven and earth are separate and apart, but the work which they do is the same. Male and female are separate and apart, but with a common will they seek the same object. There is diversity between the myriad classes of beings, but there is an analogy between their several operations. Great indeed are the phenomena and the results of this condition of disunion and separation.

彖曰：睽，火动而上，泽动而下；二女同居，其志不同行。说而丽乎明，柔进而上行，得中而应乎刚，是以小事吉。天地睽，而其事同也；男女睽，而其志通也；万物睽，而其事类也；睽之时用大矣哉！

The Great Image

(The trigram representing) fire above, and that for (the waters of) a marsh below, form Kui. The superior man, in accordance with this, where there is a general agreement, yet admits diversity.

象曰：上火下泽，睽；君子以同而异。

The six lines

1. Line 1 (first): The first NINE, undivided, shows that (to its subject) occasion for repentance will disappear. He has lost his horses, but let him not seek for them - they will return of themselves. Should he meet with bad men, he will not err (in communicating with them).

   'He meets with bad men (and communicates with them):' - (he does so), to avoid the evil of their condemnation.

   In plain words: Regret vanishes. If you lose your horse, do not chase it: it will come back by itself. Meeting a bad person, there is no fault. The first line is at the start of opposition; it and the fourth are both yang and do not correspond, which should bring regret, but it lets things take their course. Not avoiding an unpleasant person on purpose keeps grudges from forming. The Small Image says meeting the bad person is to avoid fault.

   初九：悔亡，丧马勿逐，自复；见恶人无咎。 象曰：见恶人，以辟咎也。

2. Line 2 (second): The second NINE, undivided, shows its subject happening to meet with his lord in a bye-passage. There will be no error.

   'He happens to meet with his lord in a bye-passage:' - but he has not deviated (for this meeting) from the (proper) course.

   In plain words: Meeting one's lord in a lane: no fault. The second line corresponds to the fifth; in a time of opposition they cannot meet formally on the main road, so they meet by chance in a side street. The Small Image says it has not lost the way.

   九二：遇主于巷，无咎。 象曰：遇主于巷，未失道也。

3. Line 3 (third): In the third SIX, divided, we see one whose carriage is dragged back, while the oxen in it are pushed back, and he is himself subjected to the shaving of his head and the cutting off of his nose. There is no good beginning, but there will be a good end.

   'We see his carriage dragged back:' - this is indicated by the inappropriateness of the position (of the line). 'There is no (good) beginning, but there will be a (good) end:' - this arises from his meeting with the strong (subject of the topmost line).

   In plain words: One sees the cart dragged back, the ox held fast, the driver branded and his nose cut off; no good beginning, but a good end. The third line is held back by the second and fourth lines on either side, but it corresponds to the top line and in the end they come together. The Small Image says the cart is dragged back because the position is improper, and the good end comes from meeting the strong top line.

   六三：见舆曳，其牛掣，其人天且劓，无初有终。 象曰：见舆曳，位不当也。无初有终，遇刚也。

4. Line 4 (fourth): The fourth NINE, undivided, shows its subject solitary amidst the (prevailing) disunion. (But) he meets with the good man (represented by the first line), and they blend their sincere desires together. The position is one of peril, but there will be no mistake.

   'They blend their sincere desires together, and there will be no error:' - their (common) aim is carried into effect.

   In plain words: Isolated by opposition, one meets a good man; they trust each other: danger, but no fault. The good man is the first line. The fourth line sits between two yin lines, alone and unsupported, and joins with the first, which shares its nature. The Small Image says trusting each other brings no fault, and its aims are carried out.

   九四：睽孤，遇元夫，交孚，厉无咎。 象曰：交孚无咎，志行也。

5. Line 5 (fifth): The fifth SIX, divided, shows that (to its subject) occasion for repentance will disappear. With his relative (and minister he unites closely and readily) as if he were biting through a piece of skin. When he goes forward (with this help), what error can there be?

   'With his hereditary minister (he unites closely and easily) as if he were biting through a piece of skin:' - his going forward will afford ground for congratulation.

   In plain words: Regret vanishes. His kinsman joins with him as easily as biting through soft flesh: going on, what fault could there be? The kinsman is the second line. The fifth line corresponds to the second and they remain of one mind even in a time of opposition. The Small Image says going on brings celebration.

   六五：悔亡，厥宗噬肤，往何咎。 象曰：厥宗噬肤，往有庆也。

6. Line 6 (sixth (top)): The topmost NINE, undivided, shows its subject solitary amidst the (prevailing) disunion. (In the subject of the third line, he seems to) see a pig bearing on its back a load of mud, (or fancies) there is a carriage full of ghosts. He first bends his bow against him, and afterwards unbends it, (for he discovers) that he is not an assailant to injure, but a near relative. Going forward, he shall meet with (genial) rain, and there will be good fortune.

   'The good fortune symbolised by meeting with (genial) rain' springs from the passing away of all doubts.

   In plain words: Isolated by opposition, one sees a pig covered in mud and a cartload of ghosts; first one draws the bow, then puts it down; it is not a robber but a suitor. Going on and meeting rain brings good fortune. The top line is at the height of opposition and deeply suspicious, seeing its own partner, the third line, as a monster; when the doubts clear, yin and yang meet like falling rain. The Small Image says the good fortune of the rain is that all doubts vanish.

   上九：睽孤，见豕负涂，载鬼一车，先张之弧，后说之弧，匪寇婚媾，往遇雨则吉。 象曰：遇雨之吉，群疑亡也。

Line positions

1 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.

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 Gen palace runs: Gèn (head), Bì (1st change), Dà Chù (2nd change), Sǔn (3rd change), Kuí (4th change), Lǚ (5th change), Zhōng Fú (wandering soul), Jiàn (returning soul).

A recorded case from Takashima

Kui to Wei Ji: a proud man who keeps to himself: A friend asked about his fortunes and received the first line of Kui, "regret vanishes; if you lose your horse, do not chase it, it will return; see the bad man, no fault". Takashima said he had always been proud and kept to himself, but should not keep score; even someone he disliked should not be turned away if they came asking. Next year would bring a chance of promotion.

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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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