Anonymous (traditionally attributed to King Wen, the Duke of Zhou and Confucius) · Complete work
Hexagram 48 · Jǐng ䷯
Hexagram 48 · Jǐng ䷯ of 69. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Classical Chinese
井：改邑不改井，无喪无得，往來井井。汔至亦未繘井。羸其瓶，凶。
初六：井泥不食，舊井无禽。
九二：井谷射鮒，瓮敝漏。
九三：井渫不食，為我心惻，可用汲，王明，並受其福。
六四：井甃，无咎。
九五：井冽，寒泉食。
上六：井收勿幕，有孚元吉。
彖曰：巽乎水而上水，井；井養而不窮也。改邑不改井，乃以剛中也。汔至亦未繘井，未有功也。羸其瓶，是以凶也。
象曰：木上有水，井；君子以勞民勸相。
井泥不食，下也。舊井无禽，時舍也。
井谷射鮒，无與也。
井渫不食，行惻也。求王明，受福也。
井甃无咎，修井也。
寒泉之食，中正也。
元吉在上，大成也。
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.
Jing (The Well): A town may change, but its well does not. No loss, no gain: people come and go, drawing from the well. Almost there, yet the rope has not reached the water. The jar breaks: misfortune.
Six at the beginning: Muddy well water is not drunk. No animals come to an old well.
Nine in the second place: In the hollow of the well, one shoots at little fish; the earthenware jug is cracked and leaks.
Nine in the third place: The well is clean, yet no one drinks; this pains my heart. Its water can be drawn. If the king is wise, all will receive its blessing.
Six in the fourth place: The well is lined with masonry. No blame.
Nine in the fifth place: The well is clear; its cold spring water is drunk.
Six at the top: Draw from the well; do not cover it. With sincerity, supreme good fortune.
The Judgment Commentary says: Wood descends into water and lifts water upward: this is Jing. The well nourishes without exhaustion. “A town may change, but its well does not”: firmness holds the center. “Almost there, yet the rope has not reached the water”: nothing has been accomplished. The jar breaks, and so there is misfortune.
The Image Commentary says: Water above wood: Jing. Thus the noble person encourages the people in their labor and urges them to help one another.
Muddy well water is not drunk because it lies below. No animals come to the old well: its time has passed.
Shooting at little fish in the well's hollow: there is no one to help.
The clean well from which none drink gives pain to those who pass. Seek a wise king, and receive blessing.
Lining the well with masonry without blame is repairing the well.
Drinking from the cold spring: it is central and upright.
Supreme good fortune at the top: a great work is complete.
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.
Jing (The Well): You can move the town but not the well. The well loses nothing and gains nothing; people come and go to it for water. If the water is almost reached but has not yet been drawn up, and the jar breaks, there is misfortune.
Six at the beginning: The well is muddy and no one drinks from it. No birds come to the old well.
Nine in the second place: At the well's hollow one shoots at small fish. The earthen jar is cracked and leaks.
Nine in the third place: The well has been cleaned, but no one drinks from it. This pains my heart. It could be used to draw water. If the king were clear-sighted, all would receive its blessing.
Six in the fourth place: The well is lined with stone. No blame.
Nine in the fifth place: The well is clear; its cold spring water can be drunk.
Six at the top: Draw from the well without covering it. With sincerity comes supreme good fortune.
The Judgment Commentary says: Wood goes down into water and brings water up: this is Jing (The Well). The well nourishes without being exhausted. Moving the town but not the well reflects the firm line in the middle. Nearly reaching the water but not drawing it up means nothing has been accomplished yet. Breaking the jar brings misfortune.
The Image Commentary says: Water above wood: this is Jing (The Well). So the noble person puts the people to work and encourages them to help one another.
The well is muddy and no one drinks from it because it is at the bottom. No birds come to the old well because its time has passed.
Shooting at small fish in the hollow of the well means there is no one to help.
The well has been cleaned, but no one drinks from it: this pains those passing by. Seek a clear-sighted king to receive the blessing.
Lining the well with stone brings no blame because it repairs the well.
The cold spring water can be drunk because the position is centered and right.
Supreme good fortune is at the top: a great achievement.