Progress
Fire (離 Lí) above, Earth (坤 Kūn) below
Published July 22, 2026 · By Oriens
I Ching Hexagram 35, 晉 (Jìn), represents Progress.
SourceZhouyi (周易, The Book of Changes) — hexagram 35 (晉 Jìn). Chinese source: Chinese Text Project, based on 《武英殿十三經注疏》本《周易正義》 (ctp:book-of-changes/jin). Judgment: received Zhouyi hexagram statement (卦辭). English: Translation by Oriens Editorial Translation. Image: Xiang / Image commentary layer (象傳), distinct from the Judgment and line texts. Image and line English: named translation by James Legge, The Yî King (1899), public-domain translation; online reproduction. The named translation is used for the Image and line statements only.
1. Judgment (卦辭 Guàcí)
晉：康侯用錫馬蕃庶，晝日三接。
Oriens Editorial Translation: Kang Hou is granted horses in great abundance and is received three times in one day.
2. Image (象 Xiàng / Xiang commentary)
明出地上,晋。君子以自昭明德。
James Legge: (The trigram representing) the earth and that for the bright (sun) coming forth above it form Zin. The superior man, according to this, gives himself to make more brilliant his bright virtue.
3. Line Statements (爻辭 Yáocí)
Line 1 of 6 (from the bottom):
初六：晉如，摧如，貞吉。罔孚，裕无咎。
James Legge: The first SIX, divided, shows one wishing to advance, and (at the same time) kept back. Let him be firm and correct, and there will be good fortune. If trust be not reposed in him, let him maintain a large and generous mind, and there will be no error.
Line 2 of 6 (from the bottom):
六二：晉如，愁如，貞吉。受茲介福，于其王母。
James Legge: The second SIX, divided, shows its subject with the appearance of advancing, and yet of being sorrowful. If he be firm and correct, there will be good fortune. He will receive this great blessing from his grandmother.
Line 3 of 6 (from the bottom):
六三：眾允，悔亡。
James Legge: The third SIX, divided, shows its subject trusted by all (around him). All occasion for repentance will disappear.
Line 4 of 6 (from the bottom):
九四：晉如碩鼠，貞厲。
James Legge: The fourth NINE, undivided, shows its subject with the appearance of advancing, but like a marmot. However firm and correct he may be, the position is one of peril.
Line 5 of 6 (from the bottom):
六五：悔亡，失得勿恤，往吉，无不利。
James Legge: The fifth SIX, divided, shows how all occasion for repentance disappears (from its subject). (But) let him not concern himself about whether he shall fail or succeed. To advance will be fortunate, and in every way advantageous.
Line 6 of 6 (from the bottom):
上九：晉其角，維用伐邑，厲吉无咎，貞吝。
James Legge: The topmost NINE, undivided, shows one advancing his horns. But he only uses them to punish the (rebellious people of his own) city. The position is perilous, but there will be good fortune. (Yet) however firm and correct he may be, there will be occasion for regret.
For the general method for changing lines and relating hexagrams, see How to Read the I Ching.
4. Modern Interpretation (Oriens commentary)
This is an Oriens interpretation, not part of the Zhouyi text.
Progress can prompt a careful question about visibility: what is rising here, and is it being seen for what it is? The image of the sun rising over the earth reads here as the figure's picture of advancement, with the text's own emphasis on sincerity shown rather than claimed.
The Chinese source and translation provenance are identified above. The Judgment is an Oriens Editorial Translation; the Image and line statements are labeled with James Legge. This keeps the modern reflection separate from both the received text and the named translation.
Nothing on this page predicts promotion, recognition, or outcomes. Health, financial, legal, employment, and relationship decisions belong within their appropriate professional and personal contexts.
Continue with the Hexagram 35 card and the I Ching guide; these are reading paths, not additional predictions.