Hexagram 38 of 64
睽 Kuí · Opposition
上 離 Fire (Lí) over 下 兌 Lake (Duì)
Unlike, yet walking together.
Judgment
Zhouyi, hexagram 38, judgment. English translation in preparation.
Image
In short: fire above, lake below.
Zhouyi, hexagram 38, Great Image. Short gloss by Koyonari; full translation in preparation.
Commentary
Kuí is fire above, lake below: one rises while the other sinks, their directions diverging. Kuí speaks of walking together despite difference—acknowledging divergence enables companionship far better than feigning agreement. Today's disagreements need not be erased; brought into the light, they cease to trip you in the shadows.
Koyonari commentary.
The Six Lines
“Remorse disappears. Lost horses need not be chased; they return on their own. Seeing evil persons brings no blame.” Regret disappears. A lost horse need not be chased, for it will return on its own. Meeting an evil person to avoid creating enmity can also bring 'no blame,' meaning no fault. Kuí means estrangement between people. This line describes maintaining communication when estrangement first begins.
Zhouyi, hexagram 38, line 1. Koyonari translation.
“Seeing bad people serves to avoid blame.” The Line Image explains 'seeing bad people.' 'Bì' means avoiding. Meeting with bad people during times of estrangement serves specifically to avoid harm and blame.
Zhouyi, hexagram 38, line 2. Koyonari translation.
“Meeting the master in a narrow alley. No blame.” Meeting one's corresponding ruler in a narrow alley can bring 'no blame,' meaning no fault. Kuí describes estrangement. The second yang line corresponds with the fifth yin line, but they must find a roundabout way to meet. The emphasis is on their ability to connect.
Zhouyi, hexagram 38, line 3. Koyonari translation.
“Meeting the master in a lane: one has not strayed from the path.” The Line Image explains 'meeting the master in a lane.' The master refers to corresponding Six in the fifth place. During estrangement, formal audiences are blocked, so they meet informally in narrow lanes; yet such an encounter does not abandon the upright path.
Zhouyi, hexagram 38, line 4. Koyonari translation.
“Seeing a cart dragged back, its ox held fast, the man branded on forehead and nose cut off. No good beginning, but a good ending.” A cart is dragged backward, an ox restrained from the front, and a man punished by head-shaving and cutting off his nose: obstacles everywhere. Tiān is interpreted as punitive head-shaving; yì means cutting off the nose. An unfavorable beginning leads to a good ending, hence 'no beginning, but an ending.'
Zhouyi, hexagram 38, line 5. Koyonari translation.
“Seeing the carriage dragged back: position is improper. Having no beginning but an end: meeting the firm.” The Line Image explains two phrases. 'Seeing the carriage dragged back'—the wagon being detained—stems from Six in the third place being a yin line improperly in a yang seat, caught between yang lines Nine in the second and Nine in the fourth. 'Having no beginning but an end' means that despite initial obstacles, all ends well because it ultimately meets the firm line (corresponding Top Nine).
Zhouyi, hexagram 38, line 6. Koyonari translation.
“Isolated in opposition. Meeting a kindred spirit, joining in mutual trust. Danger, yet no blame.” Isolated amid estrangement, one nevertheless meets an upright, resolute man with whom one can associate, and they deal with each other sincerely. Yuán fū refers to such a man; jiāo fú means mutual trust. Despite the danger of the situation, there can still be 'no blame,' meaning no fault.
Zhouyi, hexagram 38, line 7. Koyonari translation.
“Mutual trust brings no blame: the aspiration is carried out.” The Line Image explains why mutual trust secures freedom from blame. In perilous isolation amidst estrangement, if one meets a virtuous companion of like mind and exchanges sincere trust, advancing together, their shared aspirations can be realized, overcoming distress.
Zhouyi, hexagram 38, line 8. Koyonari translation.
“Remorse disappears. One's kinsman bites through the flesh. In advancing, what blame could there be?” Regret disappears. Jué zōng refers to people of the same lineage or kind as oneself. Shì fū means biting into tender meat, a metaphor for how easily they come together. With such a connection, what fault could there be in going forward?
Zhouyi, hexagram 38, line 9. Koyonari translation.
“The kinsman bites through the skin: going brings blessing.” The Line Image explains 'going, what blame?' by judging directly that 'going brings blessing.' 'Kinsman' denotes Nine in the second place, which responds to Six in the fifth. 'Biting through skin' means biting tender meat; early commentaries view this as entering easily, indicating uncomplicated union, while Kong Yingda's sub-commentary explains it as Nine in the second biting through intervening Six in the third. Six in the fifth is yielding, central, and honored; Nine in the second responds. Going now brings blessings.
Zhouyi, hexagram 38, line 10. Koyonari translation.
“Isolated in opposition. Seeing a pig covered in mud, a wagon loaded with ghosts. First drawing the bow, then unstringing it. Not bandits, but marital suitors. Advancing and meeting rain brings good fortune.” Isolated and suspicious amid estrangement, one sees a mud-covered pig and suspects a cart full of ghosts. First the bow is drawn in defense, then lowered (shuō is read as tuō here), as the arrivals are recognized as marriage partners rather than bandits. Encountering rain on the way symbolizes yin and yang coming together and doubts dissolving, with good fortune as the outcome.
Zhouyi, hexagram 38, line 11. Koyonari translation.
“The good fortune of meeting rain means all doubts vanish.” The Line Image explains why encountering rain dispels doubts to bring good fortune. Top Nine sits at the culmination of Opposition, where suspicion peaks. Yet truth is clarified at last, and its union with Six in the third place descends like sweet rain. With yin and yang harmoniously joined, all accumulated doubts thoroughly dissolve, securing good fortune.
Zhouyi, hexagram 38, line 12. Koyonari translation.