The Gentle (Wind)
Wind (巽 Xùn) above, Wind (巽 Xùn) below
Published July 22, 2026 · By Oriens
I Ching Hexagram 57, 巽 (Xùn), represents The Gentle (Wind).
SourceZhouyi (周易, The Book of Changes) — hexagram 57 (巽 Xùn). Chinese source: Chinese Text Project, based on 《武英殿十三經注疏》本《周易正義》 (ctp:book-of-changes/xun). 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)
巽：小亨，利攸往，利見大人。
Oriens Editorial Translation: Small success. Having somewhere to go is fruitful; seeing a great person is fruitful.
2. Image (象 Xiàng / Xiang commentary)
随风,巽。君子以申命行事。
James Legge: (Two trigrams representing) wind, following each other, form Sun. The superior man, in accordance with this, reiterates his orders, and secures the practice of his affairs.
3. Line Statements (爻辭 Yáocí)
Line 1 of 6 (from the bottom):
初六：進退，利武人之貞。
James Legge: The first SIX, divided, shows its subject (now) advancing, (now) receding. It would be advantageous for him to have the firm correctness of a brave soldier.
Line 2 of 6 (from the bottom):
九二：巽在床下，用史巫紛若，吉，无咎。
James Legge: The second NINE, undivided, shows the representative of Sun beneath a couch, and employing diviners and exorcists in a way bordering on confusion. There will be good fortune and no error.
Line 3 of 6 (from the bottom):
九三：頻巽，吝。
James Legge: The third NINE, undivided, shows its subject penetrating (only) by violent and repeated efforts. There will be occasion for regret.
Line 4 of 6 (from the bottom):
六四：悔亡，田獲三品。
James Legge: The fourth SIX, divided, shows all occasion for repentance (in its subject) passed away. He takes game for its threefold use in his hunting.
Line 5 of 6 (from the bottom):
九五：貞吉，悔亡，无不利。无初有終。先庚三日，後庚三日，吉。
James Legge: The fifth NINE, undivided, shows that with firm correctness there will be good fortune (to its subject). All occasion for repentance will disappear, and all his movements will be advantageous. There may have been no (good) beginning, but there will be a (good) end. Three days before making any changes, (let him give notice of them); and three days after, (let him reconsider them). There will (thus) be good fortune.
Line 6 of 6 (from the bottom):
上九：巽在床下，喪其資斧，貞凶。
James Legge: The sixth NINE, undivided, shows the representative of penetration beneath a couch, and having lost the axe with which he executed his decisions. However firm and correct he may (try to) be, there will be evil.
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.
The Gentle can prompt questions about how a person changes course without mistaking persistence for coercion: what small action is available, where repeated pressure becomes intrusion, and which evidence would show that a course is not working.
These are Oriens reflection prompts, not a therapy, negotiation, leadership, or persuasion program. They do not diagnose a reader, promise influence, or replace professional advice in a consequential decision.
Continue with the Hexagram 57 card and the I Ching guide; these are reading paths, not additional predictions.