30 · 離
Hexagram 30, 離. Original Chinese judgment: 利貞，亨。畜牝牛，吉。 Read the six line statements, commentaries and separately labeled editorial summaries.
Judgment
利貞，亨。畜牝牛，吉。
Line texts
- 初九：履錯然，敬之无咎。
- 六二：黃離，元吉。
- 九三：日昃之離，不鼓缶而歌，則大耋之嗟，凶。
- 九四：突如其來如，焚如，死如，棄如。
- 六五：出涕沱若，戚嗟若，吉。
- 上九：王用出征，有嘉折首，獲匪其醜，无咎。
Tuan commentary
離，麗也；日月麗乎天，百穀草木麗乎土，重明以麗乎正，乃化成天下。柔麗乎中正，故亨；是以畜牝牛吉也。
Great Image commentary
明兩作離，大人以繼明照于四方。
Small Images · bottom to top
- 履錯之敬，以辟咎也。
- 黃離元吉，得中道也。
- 日昃之離，何可久也。
- 突如其來如，无所容也。
- 六五之吉，離王公也。
- 王用出征，以正邦也。
Traditional source · editorial summary in Chinese
Working translation of this site’s Chinese summaries based on traditional sources, not verbatim quotations from the commentator or a translation of the classical text. Native-language review is incomplete. Traditional imagery is not medical, legal or other professional advice.
朱熹《周易本義》
Judgment exegesis
Zhu Xi explains Li as attachment, with yin attaching to yang to form fire. What things attach to must above all be correct. Repeated clarity also needs attachment to correctness; yielding, centered correctness allows unhindered progress.
Traditional source · editorial summary in Chinese · Line texts
- Firmness below in the first line belongs to clarity and aims to advance, but its steps are confused. Respectful caution at the beginning of action avoids mistakes.
- Yielding strength in the second line attaches to the centered, correct position. Yellow represents the middle way; attachment that is centered and correct gives primal auspiciousness.
- The third yang line stands as the first light ends, like the sun declining westward. Failure to accept the ordinary course and find ease brings lament over aging and an inauspicious reading.
- The fourth yang line stands as the next light begins, but firm strength approaches suddenly and violently with nowhere to settle, giving images of burning, death and abandonment.
- Yin in the honored fifth position attaches yieldingly to the center but is not correctly placed, pressured by yang above and below. Anxious vigilance is needed before auspiciousness can follow.
- Firm clarity in the top yang line reaches far. Action is authoritative without indiscriminate punishment, addressing the principal wrongdoer without implicating those outside that group; hence no blame.
Plain-language reading
Working translation of this site’s Chinese editorial reading, not an edition of the classical text, a verbatim quotation from a commentator or a prediction. Native-language review is not yet complete.
Judgment introduction
Li conveys attachment and dependence: fire must cling to something to sustain its light. Nothing exists in complete isolation. What matters is that the object of attachment accords with the proper way, and that yielding, centered correctness sustains clear discernment.
Plain-language reading · Line texts
- Steps are confused at the beginning of action. The stronger the wish to advance, the more respectful caution is needed to avoid mistakes.
- Yielding attachment to a centered and correct position is represented by yellow, the color of the middle way. Because the attachment is both centered and correct, it is greatly auspicious.
- The earlier layer of light is nearing its end, like the sun declining in the west. Without accepting the ordinary course of things, one laments aging and change.
- The next light approaches suddenly and fiercely. Firm strength finds no place to settle; what arrives in haste also disperses quickly.
- Yielding strength holds the center while bearing pressure from above and below. Anxious vigilance and caution must be maintained before an auspicious outcome is possible.
- Firm clarity reaches far. Action carries authority without indiscriminate punishment, addressing the principal problem rather than implicating others.