Anonymous (traditionally attributed to King Wen, the Duke of Zhou and Confucius) · Complete work
Hexagram 24 · Fù ䷗
Hexagram 24 · Fù ䷗ of 69. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Classical Chinese
復：亨。出入无疾，朋來无咎。反復其道，七日來復，利有攸往。
初九：不遠復，无祇悔，元吉。
六二：休復，吉。
六三：頻復，厲无咎。
六四：中行獨復。
六五：敦復，无悔。
上六：迷復，凶，有災眚。用行師，終有大敗，以其國君，凶；至于十年，不克征。
彖曰：復亨；剛反，動而以順行，是以出入无疾，朋來无咎。反復其道，七日來復，天行也。利有攸往，剛長也。復其見天地之心乎？
象曰：雷在地中，復；先王以至日閉關，商旅不行，后不省方。
不遠之復，以修身也。
休復之吉，以下仁也。
頻復之厲，義无咎也。
中行獨復，以從道也。
敦復无悔，中以自考也。
迷復之凶，反君道也。
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the classical Chinese, passage for passage, covering all 64 hexagrams with their judgments, line statements and attached commentaries, and the remaining Wings (the Great Commentary, the Discussion of the Trigrams, the Sequence and the Contrasts of the Hexagrams), 1,204 passages in all.
Fu (Return): Success. Going out and coming in without illness; companions arrive, no blame. Turning back along the way, return comes in seven days. It is favorable to have somewhere to go.
Nine at the beginning: Return before going far, without great regret. Supreme good fortune.
Six in the second place: A gracious return. Good fortune.
Six in the third place: Repeated returns. Danger, but no blame.
Six in the fourth place: Walking amid the others, one alone returns.
Six in the fifth place: A sincere, generous return. No regret.
Six at the top: Lost on the way back: misfortune and calamity. If armies are sent forth, there will be a great defeat at last. Misfortune for the ruler of that state; for ten years he cannot march to war.
The Judgment Commentary says: Fu brings success: the firm returns, moving in obedience. Thus one goes out and comes in without illness, and companions arrive without blame. Returning along the way in seven days is heaven's course. It is favorable to go somewhere, for firmness grows. Does not Return reveal the heart of heaven and earth?
The Image Commentary says: Thunder within the earth: Fu. Thus at the solstice the former kings closed the passes; merchants and travelers did not go forth, and the ruler did not inspect the regions.
Returning before going far serves to cultivate oneself.
The good fortune of a gracious return comes from humbling oneself before benevolence.
The danger of repeated returns: by right there is no blame.
Walking amid the others and returning alone: one follows the way.
A generous return without regret: one examines oneself from the center.
The misfortune of losing the way back: it runs counter to the ruler's way.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the classical Chinese, covering all 64 hexagrams with their judgments, line statements and attached commentaries, and the remaining Wings (the Great Commentary, the Discussion of the Trigrams, the Sequence and the Contrasts of the Hexagrams), 1,204 passages in all.
Fu (Return): Success. You can go out and come in without illness. Friends come without blame. The way turns back upon itself; after seven days it returns. Going somewhere is favorable.
Nine at the beginning: Return before going far, without great regret. Supreme good fortune.
Six in the second place: A good return. Good fortune.
Six in the third place: Return repeatedly. There is danger but no blame.
Six in the fourth place: Walk among others but return alone.
Six in the fifth place: Return wholeheartedly. No regret.
Six at the top: Losing the way back brings misfortune and disaster. If the army is sent out, it will end in a great defeat, bringing misfortune on the ruler of that state. Even after ten years he cannot go out to attack.
The Judgment Commentary says: Fu succeeds because the firm returns. It moves and acts with willing obedience. So one can go out and come in without illness, and friends come without blame. The way turns back upon itself and returns after seven days: this is heaven's course. Going somewhere is favorable because the firm is growing. Does Fu show us the heart of heaven and earth?
The Image Commentary says: Thunder is within the earth: this is Fu. On the shortest day, former kings closed the passes. Merchants and travelers did not go out, and the ruler did not visit the regions.
Returning before going far means improving one's conduct.
The good fortune of a good return comes from treating those below with kindness.
Repeated returns are dangerous, but right conduct brings no blame.
Walking among others but returning alone means following the right path.
Returning wholeheartedly without regret means examining yourself from a centered position.
Losing the way back brings misfortune because it goes against the way of a ruler.