Anonymous (traditionally attributed to King Wen, the Duke of Zhou and Confucius) · Complete work
Hexagram 43 · Guài ䷪
Hexagram 43 · Guài ䷪ of 69. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
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夬：揚于王庭，孚號，有厲，告自邑，不利即戎，利有攸往。
初九：壯于前趾，往不勝為咎。
九二：惕號，莫夜有戎，勿恤。
九三：壯于頄，有凶。君子夬夬，獨行遇雨，若濡有慍，无咎。
九四：臀无膚，其行次且。牽羊悔亡，聞言不信。
九五：莧陸夬夬，中行无咎。
上六：无號，終有凶。
彖曰：夬，決也，剛決柔也。健而說，決而和，揚于王庭，柔乘五剛也。孚號有厲，其危乃光也。告自邑，不利即戎，所尚乃窮也。利有攸往，剛長乃終也。
象曰：澤上于天，夬；君子以施祿及下，居德則忌。
不勝而往，咎也。
莫夜有戎，得中道也。
君子夬夬，終无咎也。
其行次且，位不當也。聞言不信，聰不明也。
中行无咎，中未光也。
无號之凶，終不可長也。
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.
Guai (Breakthrough): The matter is proclaimed in the king's court, with a sincere cry. There is danger. The warning goes out from your own city: it is not favorable to take up arms; it is favorable to have somewhere to go.
Nine at the beginning: Strength in the front toe; to go without the power to overcome brings blame.
Nine in the second place: A cry of alarm; in the dark night there are armed men — do not be anxious.
Nine in the third place: Strength shows in the cheekbones: misfortune threatens. The noble person resolves resolutely; he goes alone and meets with rain; drenched, he grows angry — yet no blame.
Nine in the fourth place: His buttocks have no skin; his steps falter. Lead the ram along, and regret vanishes; but he hears words and does not believe them.
Nine in the fifth place: Resolute as the amaranth on the slope, he walks the middle way — no blame.
Six at the top: No cry — in the end, misfortune.
The Judgment Commentary says: Guai means breakthrough: the firm breaks through the yielding. Strong and yet joyous, resolute and yet harmonious — "proclaimed in the king's court": the yielding rides upon five firm lines. "A cry of sincerity, and there is danger": the peril makes it bright. "The warning goes out from your own city; it is not favorable to take up arms": what is honored there would come to a dead end. "It is favorable to have somewhere to go": the firm, growing, comes to its fullness.
The Image Commentary says: The lake rises above heaven: Guai. Thus the noble person lets his bounty flow down to those below; to sit keeping his virtue to himself is to be rejected.
To go without the strength to overcome: that is the fault.
That in the dark night there are armed men: yet he holds the middle way.
The noble person resolves resolutely: in the end, no blame.
His steps falter: the place he holds is not the right one. He hears words and does not believe them: his hearing is not clear.
Walking the middle way, no blame — yet the center is not yet bright.
The misfortune of the wordless cry: it cannot last to the end.
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.
Guai (Breakthrough): Announce it in the king's court. Make the call sincerely: there is danger. Report it from your own town. Taking up arms is not favorable. It is favorable to have somewhere to go.
Nine at the beginning: Strength in the front toes. Going forward when you cannot win brings blame.
Nine in the second place: Call out a warning. There may be armed attackers at night; do not worry.
Nine in the third place: Strength in the cheekbones brings misfortune. The noble person is determined to make a breakthrough. Walking alone, he meets rain. He gets wet and is resented, but there is no blame.
Nine in the fourth place: His buttocks have no skin and he walks with difficulty. Lead a sheep, and regret disappears. He hears words but does not believe them.
Nine in the fifth place: Clear away the amaranth weeds decisively. Following the middle way brings no blame.
Six at the top: No call goes out. In the end there is misfortune.
The Judgment Commentary says: Guai (Breakthrough) means deciding: the firm decides against the yielding. It is strong and joyful, decisive yet peaceful. “Announce it in the king's court” means one yielding line rides above five firm lines. Calling out sincerely despite danger makes the danger clear. Reporting from one's own town rather than taking up arms is right, because valuing force would lead to a dead end. Having somewhere to go is favorable because the firm grows until the end.
The Image Commentary says: The lake rises to heaven: this is Guai (Breakthrough). So the noble person gives rewards to those below. Keeping virtue for himself is something to avoid.
Going forward without being able to win brings blame.
Armed attackers at night: he has found the middle way.
The noble person is determined to make a breakthrough; in the end there is no blame.
He walks with difficulty because his position is not appropriate. He hears words but does not believe them because he does not hear clearly.
Following the middle way brings no blame, though the middle has not yet come to light.
Misfortune from making no call cannot last indefinitely.