Hexagram 60: 節 (jié)
Judgment
亨。苦節不可貞。
Kieh. intimates that (under its conditions) there will be progress and attainment. (But) if the regulations (which it prescribes) be severe and difficult, they cannot be permanent.
Commentary on the judgment (彖傳)
節，亨，剛柔分，而剛得中。苦節不可貞，其道窮也。說以行險，當位以節，中正以通。天地節而四時成，節以制度，不傷財，不害民。
The image (大象)
澤上有水，節；君子以制數度，議德行。
The six lines
| Line | Chinese | Legge | Changes to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 – – | 苦節，貞凶，悔亡。 | The topmost line, divided, shows its subject enacting regulations severe and difficult. Even with firmness and correctness there will be evil. But though there will be cause for repentance, it will (by and by) disappear. | 61 |
| 5 — | 甘節，吉；往有尚。 | The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject sweetly and acceptably enacting his regulations. There will be good fortune. The onward progress with them will afford ground for admiration. | 19 |
| 4 – – | 安節，亨。 | The fourth line, divided, shows its subject quietly and naturally (attentive to all) regulations. There will be progress and success. | 58 |
| 3 – – | 不節若，則嗟若，无咎。 | The third line, divided, shows its subject with no appearance of observing the (proper) regulations, in which case we shall see him lamenting. But there will be no one to blame (but himself). | 5 |
| 2 — | 不出門庭，凶。 | The second line, undivided, shows its subject not quitting the courtyard inside his gate. There will be evil. | 3 |
| 1 — | 不出戶庭，无咎。 | The first line, undivided, shows its subject not quitting the courtyard outside his door. There will be no error. | 29 |
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 59
- Opposite (every line changed): hexagram 56 · reading
- Nuclear (lines 2–4 and 3–5): hexagram 27
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
- 亨hēngprospering, going smoothly
- 苦kǔbitter; hardship, suffering
- 節jiéfestival; knot, joint; segment; to econo
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 貞zhēnvirtuous, chaste, pure; loyal
- 出chūto go out, to send out; stand; produce
- 戶hùdoor; family
- 庭tíngcourt; courtyard; spacious hall or yard
- 无wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 咎jiùfault, defect; error, mistake
- 門méngate, door, entrance, opening
- 凶xiōngculprit; murder; bad, sad
- 若ruòif, supposing, assuming; similar
- 則zérule, law, regulation; grades
- 嗟jiēsigh, alas
- 安ānpeaceful, tranquil, quiet
- 甘gānsweet, tasty; willing
- 吉jílucky, propitious, good
- 往wǎngto go, to depart; past, former
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 尚shàngstill, yet; even; fairly, rather
- 悔huǐto regret, to repent, to show remorse
- 亡wángdeath, destruction; to lose; to perish
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.
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