Kun · Oppression

Judgment

亨，贞，大人吉。

Success. Perseverance is needed. For the great person, good fortune.

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)

泽无水，困，君子以致命遂志。

泽中已无水，这是困卦，穷困窘迫的卦象，君子即使身处困境，仍应不惜代价地坚守志向。

The Six Lines

• First line臀困于株木，入于幽谷，三岁不见。初六 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.
• Second line困于酒食，朱绂方来，利用亨祀，征凶，无咎。九二 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.
• Third line困于石，据于蒺藜，入于其宫，不见其妻，凶。六三 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.
• Fourth line来徐徐，困于金车，吝，有终。九四 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.
• Fifth line劓刖，困于赤绂，乃徐有说，利用祭祀。九五 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.
• Top line困于葛藟，于臲卼，曰动悔。有悔，征吉。上六 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.

Modern Interpretive Reference

Quality: Very Inauspicious

Tendency: Oppression; constrained circumstances and depleted resources.

Guidance: Hold your integrity through the constraint. This phase tests character, not ability.

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.