Hexagram 1 as yes or no
Hexagram 1 Heaven as a yes-or-no answer
As an answer to a yes-or-no question Qian is a strong yes in principle: the judgment gives all four virtues, origin, success, benefit and steadfastness, and the hexagram has no weak line to undermine it. But the Yijing's own commentary spends most of its words on timing. The six dragons are one creature at six moments, and the right action for one moment is wrong for another: the hidden dragon must not act, the flying dragon must.
So the honest answer is 'yes, at the right stage'. A changing line in the lower trigram says the stage is early: line one is 'not yet', line two is 'show yourself but do not decide alone', line three is 'keep going with care'. A changing line in the upper trigram brings the decision to a head: line four is 'try it, and withdraw if it does not take', line five is a clear yes, and line six is the one no in the hexagram — you have already gone far enough.
The hexagram in brief
Pure yang, six unbroken lines: heaven in ceaseless motion. Creative force and leadership, pictured as a dragon rising stage by stage — hidden, in the field, flying, and finally overreaching.
Act with integrity and persistence, but know which stage you are at: a hidden dragon waits, a flying dragon leads, an arrogant one regrets.
The judgment
乾：元亨，利貞。Khien (represents) what is great and originating, penetrating, advantageous, correct and firm.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 乾 Heaven has its own page:
- 初九Nine at the beginninghidden dragon · do not act · yang below
- 九二Nine in the second placedragon in the field · appearing · the great person
- 九三Nine in the third placevigilant all day · wary at evening · danger without blame
- 九四Nine in the fourth placeleaping or waiting · the abyss · trial
- 九五Nine in the fifth placeflying dragon · in heaven · the great person
- 上九Nine at the toparrogant dragon · regret · fullness cannot last
The same hexagram for
Questions
- Does hexagram 1, Heaven, mean yes or no?
- As an answer to a yes-or-no question Qian is a strong yes in principle: the judgment gives all four virtues, origin, success, benefit and steadfastness, and the hexagram has no weak line to undermine it. But the Yijing's own commentary spends most of its words on timing. The six dragons are one creature at six moments, and the right action for one moment is wrong for another: the hidden dragon must not act, the flying dragon must.
- What does Hexagram 1, 乾 Heaven, mean?
- Pure yang, six unbroken lines: heaven in ceaseless motion. Creative force and leadership, pictured as a dragon rising stage by stage — hidden, in the field, flying, and finally overreaching.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).