Kan · The Abysmal

Judgment

习坎，有孚，维心亨。

Danger repeated. With sincerity, the heart finds its way through.

The Chinese above is the received classical text. The English below it is a plain-language rendering written for this site — not a scholarly translation. The classical wording is terse and genuinely open to more than one reading, so where interpretations diverge we follow the mainstream one.

The Image (Da Xiang)

水洊至，习坎，君子以常德行，习教事。

水流接连不断而来，这是坎卦，屡陷险境仍不断向前的卦象，君子应当保持德行恒常如水，反复练习教化之事。

The Six Lines

• First line习坎，入于坎窞，凶。初六 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.
• Second line坎有险，求小得。九二 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.
• Third line来之坎坎，险且枕，入于坎窞，勿用。六三 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.
• Fourth line樽酒簋贰，用缶，纳约自牖，终无咎。六四 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.
• Fifth line坎不盈，只既平，无咎。九五 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.
• Top line系用徽纆，寘于丛棘，三岁不得，凶。上六 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.

Modern Interpretive Reference

Quality: Very Inauspicious

Tendency: Repeated danger; difficulty layered upon difficulty.

Guidance: Hold to sincerity and consistency. Familiarity with hardship becomes competence.

This section is editorial reflection written for this site, not classical commentary. Hexagram qualities are not fixed outcomes — context and response matter more than the label. For cultural reflection only; not a basis for any decision.