Wei Ji · Before Completion

Judgment

亨，小狐汔济，濡其尾。

Success. The little fox, having almost crossed, wets its tail.

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)

火在水上，未济，君子以慎辨物居方。

火在水的上方，二者未能相济，这是未济卦，事未完成、终而复始的卦象，君子应当谨慎辨明事物的本末与所处之位。

The Six Lines

• First line濡其尾，吝。初六 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.
• Second line曳其轮，贞吉。九二 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.
• Third line未济，征凶，利涉大川。六三 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.
• Fourth line贞吉，悔亡，震用伐鬼方，三年有赏于大国。九四 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.
• Fifth line贞吉，无悔；君子之光，有孚，吉。六五 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.
• Top line有孚于饮酒，无咎；濡其首，有孚失是。上九 — classical Chinese line text. Translations vary substantially between traditions; consult a scholarly edition for depth.

Modern Interpretive Reference

Quality: Neutral

Tendency: Before completion; the ending is not yet written.

Guidance: Things remain unfinished, which means possibility is still fully open.

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.