Hexagram 53: 漸 (jiàn)
漸
jiàn · Legge: Kien
Lower trigram ☶ 艮 (Mountain), upper trigram ☴ 巽 (Wind)
Judgment
女歸吉，利貞。
Kien suggests to us the marriage of a young lady, and the good fortune (attending it). There will be advantage in being firm and correct.
Commentary on the judgment (彖傳)
漸之進也，女歸吉也。進得位，往有功也。進以正，可以正邦也。其位剛，得中也。止而巽，動不窮也。
The image (大象)
山上有木，漸；君子以居賢德，善俗。
The six lines
| Line | Chinese | Legge | Changes to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 — | 鴻漸于陸，其羽可用為儀，吉。 | The sixth line, undivided, shows the geese gradually advanced to the large heights (beyond). Their feathers can be used as ornaments. There will be good fortune. | 39 |
| 5 — | 鴻漸于陵，婦三歲不孕，終莫之勝，吉。 | The fifth line, undivided, shows the geese gradually advanced to the high mound. (It suggests the idea of) a wife who for three years does not become pregnant; but in the end the natural issue cannot be prevented. There will be good fortune. | 52 |
| 4 – – | 鴻漸于木，或得其桷，无咎。 | The fourth line, divided, shows the geese gradually advanced to the trees. They may light on the flat branches. There will be no error. | 33 |
| 3 — | 鴻漸于陸，夫征不復，婦孕不育，凶；利禦寇。 | The third line, undivided, shows them gradually advanced to the dry plains. (It suggests also the idea of) a husband who goes on an expedition from which he does not return, and of a wife who is pregnant, but will not nourish her child. There will be evil. (The case symbolised) might be advantageous in resisting plunderers. | 20 |
| 2 – – | 鴻漸于磐，飲食衎衎，吉。 | The second line, divided, shows the geese gradually approaching the large rocks, where they eat and drink joyfully and at ease. There will be good fortune. | 57 |
| 1 – – | 鴻漸于干，小子厲，有言，无咎。 | The first line, divided, shows the wild geese gradually approaching the shore. A young officer (in similar circumstances) will be in a position of danger, and be spoken against; but there will be no error. | 37 |
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 54
- Opposite (every line changed): hexagram 54 · reading
- Nuclear (lines 2–4 and 3–5): hexagram 64
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
- 女nǚwoman, girl; female
- 歸guīto return, to go back; to return to, to
- 吉jílucky, propitious, good
- 利lìgains, advantage, profit, merit
- 貞zhēnvirtuous, chaste, pure; loyal
- 鴻hónga species of wild swan; vast
- 漸jiàngradually
- 于yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 干gànarid, dry; to oppose; to offend; to inva
- 小xiǎosmall, tiny, insignificant
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 厲lìwhetstone; to grind, to sharpen, to whet
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 言yánwords, speech; to speak, to say
- 无wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 咎jiùfault, defect; error, mistake
- 磐pánboulder, large rock; firm, stable
- 飲yǐnto swallow, to drink; a kind of drink
- 食shífood; to eat
- 衎kànto give pleasure; pleased, happy
- 陸lùland, continent; six (bankers' anti-frau
- 夫fūman, husband; worker; those
- 征zhēngto summon, to recruit; levy, tax; journe
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 復fùagain, repeatedly; copy, duplicate; to r
- 婦fùmarried woman; wife
- 孕yùnpregnant; pregnancy
- 育yùto produce, to give birth to; to educate
- 凶xiōngculprit; murder; bad, sad
- 禦yùchariot; to drive, to ride; to manage
- 寇kòubandit, thief; enemy; to invade
- 木mùtree; wood, lumber; wooden
- 或huòor, either, else; maybe, perhaps, possib
- 得déto obtain, to get, to acquire; suitable,
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 桷juérafter; Malus toringo
- 陵línghill, mound; mausoleum
- 三sānthree
- 歲suìyear; years old, age; harvest
- 終zhōngend; finally, in the end
- 莫mòcannot; do not; is not; negative
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 勝shèngvictory; to excel, to truimph
- 羽yǔfeather, plume; wings
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 用yòngto use, to employ, to apply; use
- 為wèito do, to act; to handle, to govern; to
- 儀yíinstrument, apparatus; ceremony, rites
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.