Kuí — Hexagram 38

Opposition

Fire (離 Lí) above, Lake (兌 Duì) below

Published July 22, 2026 · By Oriens

Summary

I Ching Hexagram 38, 睽 (Kuí), represents Opposition.

SourceZhouyi (周易, The Book of Changes) — hexagram 38 (睽 Kuí). Chinese source: Chinese Text Project, based on 《武英殿十三經注疏》本《周易正義》 (ctp:book-of-changes/kui). 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)

睽:小事吉。

Oriens Editorial Translation: In small matters, good fortune.

2. Image (象 Xiàng / Xiang commentary)

上火下泽,睽。君子以同而异。

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

3. Line Statements (爻辭 Yáocí)

Line 1 of 6 (from the bottom):
初九:悔亡,喪馬勿逐,自復;見惡人无咎。
James Legge: 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).

Line 2 of 6 (from the bottom):
九二:遇主于巷,无咎。
James Legge: The second NINE, undivided, shows its subject happening to meet with his lord in a bye-passage. There will be no error.

Line 3 of 6 (from the bottom):
六三:見輿曳,其牛掣,其人天且劓,无初有終。
James Legge: 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.

Line 4 of 6 (from the bottom):
九四:睽孤,遇元夫,交孚,厲无咎。
James Legge: 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.

Line 5 of 6 (from the bottom):
六五:悔亡,厥宗噬膚,往何咎。
James Legge: 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?

Line 6 of 6 (from the bottom):
上九:睽孤,見豕負塗,載鬼一車,先張之弧,後說之弧,匪寇婚媾,往遇雨則吉。
James Legge: 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.

4. Modern Interpretation (Oriens commentary)

This is an Oriens interpretation, not part of the Zhouyi text.

Opposition can prompt a careful question about estrangement: where do two parties genuinely diverge here, and what small gesture could acknowledge the other without surrendering what matters? Fire rising while the lake settles is the text's own picture of forces moving apart.

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 reconciliation. Health, financial, legal, employment, and relationship decisions belong within their appropriate professional and personal contexts.

Continue with the Hexagram 38 card and the I Ching guide; these are reading paths, not additional predictions.

易经

I Ching — The Book of Changes

All 64 hexagrams in the Oriens wisdom card collection.

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