The Taming Power of the Small
Wind (巽 Xùn) above, Heaven (乾 Qián) below
Published July 22, 2026 · By Oriens
I Ching Hexagram 9, 小畜 (Xiǎo Chù), represents The Taming Power of the Small.
SourceZhouyi (周易, The Book of Changes) — hexagram 9 (小畜 Xiǎo Chù). Chinese source: Chinese Text Project, based on 《武英殿十三經注疏》本《周易正義》 (ctp:book-of-changes/xiao-xu). 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)
小畜：亨。密雲不雨，自我西郊。
Oriens Editorial Translation: Success. Dense clouds, but no rain, coming from our western outskirts.
2. Image (象 Xiàng / Xiang commentary)
风行天上,小畜。君子以懿文德。
James Legge: (The trigram representing) the sky, and that representing wind moving above it, form Hsiao Khu. The superior man, in accordance with this, adorns the outward manifestation of his virtue.
3. Line Statements (爻辭 Yáocí)
Line 1 of 6 (from the bottom):
初九：復自道，何其咎，吉。
James Legge: The first NINE, undivided, shows its subject returning and pursuing his own course. What mistake should he fall into? There will be good fortune.
Line 2 of 6 (from the bottom):
九二：牽復，吉。
James Legge: The second NINE, undivided, shows its subject, by the attraction (of the former line), returning (to the proper course). There will be good fortune.
Line 3 of 6 (from the bottom):
九三：輿說輻，夫妻反目。
James Legge: The third NINE, undivided, suggests the idea of a carriage, the strap beneath which has been removed, or of a husband and wife looking on each other with averted eyes.
Line 4 of 6 (from the bottom):
六四：有孚，血去惕出，无咎。
James Legge: The fourth SIX, divided, shows its subject possessed of sincerity. The danger of bloodshed is thereby averted, and his (ground for) apprehension dismissed. There will be no mistake.
Line 5 of 6 (from the bottom):
九五：有孚攣如，富以其鄰。
James Legge: The fifth NINE, undivided, shows its subject possessed of sincerity, and drawing others to unite with him. Rich in resources, he employs his neighbours (in the same cause with himself).
Line 6 of 6 (from the bottom):
上九：既雨既處，尚德載，婦貞厲。月幾望，君子征凶。
James Legge: The topmost NINE, undivided, shows how the rain has fallen, and the (onward progress) is stayed;—(so) must we value the full accumulation of the virtue (represented by the upper trigram). But a wife (exercising restraint), however firm and correct she may be, is in a position of peril, (and like) the moon approaching to the full. If the superior man prosecute his measures (in such circumstances), 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 Taming Power of the Small can prompt a careful question about scale: what small, repeated accumulations are actually shaping this situation, and where does gentle restraint hold more than force would? Dense clouds and no rain, in the figure's own words, describe a condition of accumulation not yet released; nothing here predicts when anything breaks open.
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.
This reflection predicts nothing. Health, financial, legal, employment, and relationship decisions belong within their appropriate professional and personal contexts.
Continue with the Hexagram 9 card and the I Ching guide; these are reading paths, not additional predictions.