Anonymous (traditionally attributed to King Wen, the Duke of Zhou and Confucius) · Complete work
Hexagram 52 · Gèn ䷳
Hexagram 52 · Gèn ䷳ of 69. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Classical Chinese
艮：艮其背，不獲其身，行其庭，不見其人，无咎。
初六：艮其趾，无咎，利永貞。
六二：艮其腓，不拯其隨，其心不快。
九三：艮其限，裂其夤，厲閽心。
六四：艮其身，无咎。
六五：艮其輔，言有孚，悔亡。
上九：敦艮，吉。
彖曰：艮，止也。時止則止，時行則行，動靜不失其時，其道光明。艮其止，止其所也。上下敵應，不相與也。是以不獲其身，行其庭不見其人，无咎也。
象曰：兼山，艮；君子以思不出其位。
艮其趾，未失正也。
不拯其隨，未退聽也。
艮其限，危薰心也。
艮其身，止諸躬也。
艮其輔，以中正也。
敦艮之吉，以厚終也。
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.
Gen (Keeping Still): Keeping the back still, one does not grasp one's body. Walking through the courtyard, one sees no people. No blame.
Six at the beginning: Keeping the toes still. No blame. Lasting steadfastness is favorable.
Six in the second place: Keeping the calves still, one cannot rescue the one who follows. The heart is not glad.
Nine in the third place: Keeping the waist still, one tears the muscles along the spine. Danger sears the heart.
Six in the fourth place: Keeping the body still. No blame.
Six in the fifth place: Keeping the jaws still, one's words are sincere. Regret vanishes.
Nine at the top: Deeply rooted stillness. Good fortune.
The Judgment Commentary says: Gen means stopping. Stop when the time calls for stopping; move when the time calls for moving. When movement and stillness never miss their time, the way shines brightly. Keep still at one's place of rest; stop where one belongs. Above and below are opposed in their responses and do not unite. Therefore one does not grasp one's body; one walks through the courtyard without seeing its people. No blame.
The Image Commentary says: Mountains standing together: Gen. Thus the noble person's thoughts do not pass beyond his station.
Keeping the toes still: one has not lost what is right.
Unable to rescue the one who follows: one has not withdrawn to listen.
Keeping the waist still: danger scorches the heart.
Keeping the body still: restraint is applied to oneself.
Keeping the jaws still comes from being central and upright.
The good fortune of deeply rooted stillness comes from a generous ending.
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.
Gen (Keeping Still): Keep his back still so he cannot feel his body. He walks in his courtyard and sees no one there. No blame.
Six at the beginning: Keep the toes still. No blame. It is favorable to stay steadily on the course for a long time.
Six in the second place: Keep the calves still. He cannot help the one he follows. His heart is unhappy.
Nine in the third place: Keep the waist still, splitting the muscles along the spine. Danger burns in his heart.
Six in the fourth place: Keep the body still. No blame.
Six in the fifth place: Keep the jaws still. His words are sincere. Regret disappears.
Nine at the top: Keep still with firmness. Good fortune.
The Judgment Commentary says: Gen (Keeping Still) means stopping. Stop when it is time to stop and go when it is time to go. When motion and rest come at the right times, this way shines brightly. Keeping still means stopping in the proper place. The lines above and below oppose rather than respond to one another, so they do not come together. That is why he cannot feel his body, walks in the courtyard without seeing anyone, and has no blame.
The Image Commentary says: Mountains joined together: this is Gen (Keeping Still). So the noble person does not let his thoughts go beyond his position.
Keeping the toes still means he has not lost what is right.
He cannot help the one he follows because that one will not turn back and listen.
Keeping the waist still means danger weighs on his heart.
Keeping the body still means stopping within oneself.
Keeping the jaws still comes from being centered and right.
Firmly keeping still brings good fortune because the end is made secure.