Hexagram 29 of 64
坎 Kǎn · The Abyss
上 坎 Water (Kǎn) over 下 坎 Water (Kǎn)
Cross each channel in turn; skip none.
Judgment
Zhouyi, hexagram 29, judgment. English translation in preparation.
Image
In short: water flows on and on.
Zhouyi, hexagram 29, Great Image. Short gloss by Koyonari; full translation in preparation.
Commentary
Kǎn is water flowing into water, one ravine following immediately upon another, peril succeeding peril. Kǎn counsels not skipping ahead: each trench must be traversed step by step. Trying to omit the middle stretch usually forces you onto a much longer detour to return. Today's cadence is crossing channel by channel in deliberate succession, not charging forward in a single breathless dash.
Koyonari commentary.
The Six Lines
“Repeated abyss, plunging into the pit within the abyss; misfortune.” Surrounded by layers of danger, one falls still deeper into a hollow within the pit. Kǎndàn means the deeper recess at the bottom of a pit. The first yin line lies at the very bottom of Kǎn (Water), picturing a situation that grows ever deeper. Misfortune means that this situation is unfavorable.
Zhouyi, hexagram 29, line 1. Koyonari translation.
“Repeated Kǎn, entering the pit: losing the path brings misfortune.” Sinking deeper into perils and falling into a pit happens because one deviates from the path to escape danger, leading to misfortune.
Zhouyi, hexagram 29, line 2. Koyonari translation.
“The abyss holds danger; seeking small gains.” The danger of the pit remains, so only small gains can be sought. Although the second yang line has firm, vigorous strength, it is still within danger and cannot escape its predicament at once. What this line allows is limited progress; it does not mean that safety has already been reached.
Zhouyi, hexagram 29, line 3. Koyonari translation.
“Seeking small gains: one has not left the center.” Seeking small gains occurs because the second line remains within the peril and has not yet escaped.
Zhouyi, hexagram 29, line 4. Koyonari translation.
“Coming and going, abyss upon abyss; danger, and leaning without ease. Falling into the pit; do not act.” Coming or going leads into a pit: danger lies both ahead and behind. Even trying to lean against something for a rest offers no secure support, and one finally falls into a deeper hollow. Zhěn means leaning without finding stability; dàn is a deep hollow within a pit. In such circumstances, the injunction against acting means that taking action is inadvisable.
Zhouyi, hexagram 29, line 5. Koyonari translation.
“Coming and going amid perils: ultimately without merit.” Perils meet every move, ultimately yielding no accomplishment.
Zhouyi, hexagram 29, line 6. Koyonari translation.
“A jug of wine, two bowls of food, served in simple earthen jars, introduced through the window; in the end no blame.” A vessel of wine is accompanied by food in a guǐ (èr means adding a supplement; another reading takes it as two guǐ vessels), while only plain earthenware serves for the wine. This modest expression of sincerity is offered through a window to seek a closer bond. A guǐ holds food; yǒu means a window. Amid danger, sincerity and trustworthiness matter. The eventual judgment of no blame means having committed no fault and incurring no reproach.
Zhouyi, hexagram 29, line 7. Koyonari translation.
“A flask of wine and two baskets: firm and yielding meet.” Beyond the flask of wine and grain baskets, there are secondary accompaniments (one view takes guǐ èr as food in two baskets). Though the ritual is plain, its essence lies in the yielding six in the fourth place joining with the firm nine in the fifth place (the source text writes jì [aid], received editions write jì [border/meet]).
Zhouyi, hexagram 29, line 8. Koyonari translation.
“The water does not overflow the pit, leveled only to the brim; no blame.” The pit's water has not filled it to overflowing, meaning that danger has not been fully escaped. Ancient commentators differ over zhī jì píng (some take zhī as a grammatical particle; others read it as chí, a small hill), but its general sense is that the danger is about to subside. The fifth yang line is firm and vigorous, central and correctly placed, and close to escaping danger. No blame therefore means no fault and no reproach.
Zhouyi, hexagram 29, line 9. Koyonari translation.
“The pit is not filled: the center is not yet great.” Water has not overflowed; though the fifth line is central, its virtue has not yet expanded.
Zhouyi, hexagram 29, line 10. Koyonari translation.
“Bound with heavy cords, placed amidst thorn thickets; for three years not obtaining release; misfortune.” Bound with ropes and confined in a prison enclosed by thorn bushes, one remains unreleased after three years. Huīmò means binding ropes; the thorn thicket here refers to a prison. The top yin line pictures prolonged confinement. Misfortune denotes the unfavorable condition of being trapped deep in danger with little prospect of release.
Zhouyi, hexagram 29, line 11. Koyonari translation.
“Top six loses the path: misfortune for three years.” Straying from the exit brings misfortune for three years.
Zhouyi, hexagram 29, line 12. Koyonari translation.