Hexagram 36: 明夷 (míng yí)
明夷
míng yí · Legge: Ming Î
Lower trigram ☲ 離 (Fire), upper trigram ☷ 坤 (Earth)
Judgment
利艱貞。
Ming Î indicates that (in the circumstances which it denotes) it will be advantageous to realise the difficulty (of the position), and maintain firm correctness.
Commentary on the judgment (彖傳)
明入地中，明夷。內文明而外柔順，以蒙大難，文王以之。利艱貞，晦其明也，內難而能正其志，箕子以之。
The image (大象)
明入地中，明夷；君子以蒞眾，用晦而明。
The six lines
| Line | Chinese | Legge | Changes to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 – – | 不明晦，初登于天，後入于地。 | The sixth line, divided, shows the case where there is no light, but (only) obscurity. (Its subject) had at first ascended to (the top of) the sky; his future shall be to go into the earth. | 22 |
| 5 – – | 箕子之明夷，利貞。 | The fifth line, divided, shows how the count of Ki fulfilled the condition indicated by Ming t. It will be advantageous to be firm and correct. | 63 |
| 4 – – | 入于左腹，獲明夷之心，于出門庭。 | The fourth line, divided, shows its subject (just) entered into the left side of the belly (of the dark land). (But) he is able to carry out the mind appropriate (in the condition indicated by) Ming I, quitting the gate and courtyard (of the lord of darkness). | 55 |
| 3 — | 明夷于南狩，得其大首，不可疾貞。 | The third line, undivided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming I, hunting in the south, and taking the great chief (of the darkness). He should not be eager to make (all) correct (at once). | 24 |
| 2 – – | 明夷，夷于左股，用拯馬壯，吉。 | The second line, divided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming I, wounded in the left thigh. He saves himself by the strength of a (swift) horse; and is fortunate. | 11 |
| 1 — | 明夷于飛，垂其翼。君子于行，三日不食，有攸往，主人有言。 | The first line, undivided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming I, flying, but with drooping wings. When the superior man (is revolving) his going away, he may be for three days without eating. Wherever he goes, the people there may speak (derisively of him). | 15 |
Lines are numbered from the bottom. Each line page shows the line text with its small image commentary; each “changes to” link opens the reading for that changing line.
Related hexagrams
- Inverse (lines in reverse order): hexagram 35
- Opposite (every line changed): hexagram 6 · reading
- Nuclear (lines 2–4 and 3–5): hexagram 40
English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East vol. 16 (1882) — public domain; OCR text of the 1882 printing, checked against the proofread hexagrams. Chinese: Zhou Yi from Chinese Wikisource.
Character glossary
- 利lìgains, advantage, profit, merit
- 艱jiāndifficult, hard; hardship
- 貞zhēnvirtuous, chaste, pure; loyal
- 明míngbright, clear; to explain, to understand
- 夷yíancient barbarian tribes
- 于yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 飛fēito fly, to dart; high
- 垂chuíto hang, to dangle; to hand down, to beq
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 翼yìwings, fins; shelter
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 行xíngto go, to walk, to move; professional
- 三sānthree
- 日rìsun; day; daytime
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 食shífood; to eat
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 攸yōudistant, far; adverbial prefix
- 往wǎngto go, to depart; past, former
- 主zhǔto own; to host; master; host; lord
- 人rénman, person; people
- 言yánwords, speech; to speak, to say
- 左zuǒleft; unorthodox, improper
- 股gǔshare, portion; thighs, haunches, rump
- 用yòngto use, to employ, to apply; use
- 拯zhěngto aid, to help; to lift, to raise
- 馬mǎhorse; surname
- 壯zhuàngbig, large; robust, strong; the name of
- 吉jílucky, propitious, good
- 南nánsouth; southern; southward
- 狩shòuwinter hunting; a hunting dog; an imperi
- 得déto obtain, to get, to acquire; suitable,
- 大dàbig, great, vast, high, deep
- 首shǒuchief, head, leader
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 疾jísickness, illness, disease; to envy, to
- 入rùto enter, to come in; to join
- 腹fùstomach, belly, abdomen; inside
- 獲huòto get, to obtain, to receive, to sieze
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 心xīnheart; mind; soul
- 出chūto go out, to send out; stand; produce
- 門méngate, door, entrance, opening
- 庭tíngcourt; courtyard; spacious hall or yard
- 箕jīsieve; dust pan; garbage bag
- 晦huìdark, obscure, unclear; night
- 初chūbeginning, initial, primary
- 登dēngto rise, to mount, to board, to climb
- 天tiānsky, heaven; god, celestial
- 後hòuafter; behind, rear; descendants
- 地deearth, ground, soil; land, region; struc
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0); Chinese Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.