Hexagram 13 as yes or no
Hexagram 13 People United as a yes-or-no answer
To a yes-or-no question Tong Ren answers yes, provided the thing can be done openly and with others. The judgment promises success and the crossing of the great river, tied to the steadiness of the superior person: the undertaking is sound if pursued in the open field rather than inside a clan. Fire's clarity below and heaven's strength above are the two things it asks of you — see who belongs, and have the firmness to act.
The changing line qualifies it. One is a clean yes: go out and join. Two is yes, but your plan is too narrow and you will regret it. Three is no: you are scheming against someone stronger and the years will pass. Four is 'stop here': the good fortune is in not attacking. Five is yes at a cost: grief first, then the force to clear the way, then the meeting. Six says the aim will not be reached, though no one blames you. Broadly, a lower-trigram line questions the width of your circle; an upper-trigram line, your willingness to pay for the union.
The hexagram in brief
Fire rising to heaven: people gathering in the open field. Fellowship succeeds when it is public and principled rather than clannish, and it makes great undertakings possible.
Unite around shared aims rather than factions; openness makes the great river crossable.
The judgment
同人于野，亨。利涉大川，利君子貞。Thung Zăn (or 'Union of men') appears here (as we find it) in the (remote districts of the) country, indicating progress and success. It will be advantageous to cross the great stream. It will be advantageous to maintain the firm correctness of the superior man.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 同人 People United has its own page:
- 初九Nine at the beginningat the gate · open fellowship · no partiality
- 六二Six in the second placefellowship with kin · clannishness · regret
- 九三Nine in the third placearms hidden in the grass · spying from the hill · three years
- 九四Nine in the fourth placeon the wall · does not attack · returns to the rule
- 九五Nine in the fifth placeweeping then laughing · the great army · they meet
- 上九Nine at the topin the outskirts · no regret · aim unfulfilled
The same hexagram for
Questions
- Does hexagram 13, People United, mean yes or no?
- To a yes-or-no question Tong Ren answers yes, provided the thing can be done openly and with others. The judgment promises success and the crossing of the great river, tied to the steadiness of the superior person: the undertaking is sound if pursued in the open field rather than inside a clan. Fire's clarity below and heaven's strength above are the two things it asks of you — see who belongs, and have the firmness to act.
- What does Hexagram 13, 同人 People United, mean?
- Fire rising to heaven: people gathering in the open field. Fellowship succeeds when it is public and principled rather than clannish, and it makes great undertakings possible.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).