Hexagram 20 as yes or no
Hexagram 20 Observation as a yes-or-no answer
As an answer to a yes-or-no question, Guan does not say yes or no; it says 'look first'. The judgment describes a moment before action — hands washed, offering not yet made — and the hexagram's whole counsel is that the quality of your seeing decides the outcome. If the question is whether to act now, the answer is to hold the action and complete the observation, with sincerity visible to those watching you.
The changing line tells you how good your view is. In the lower trigram it is not yet good enough: a beginner's (line one), a view from inside your own walls (line two); line three says review your own conduct and let it decide between advancing and withdrawing. In the upper trigram the view is adequate and the question becomes one of position: line four says yes, join what you have seen; line five says judge by the effect on others; line six says that even after stepping back you are still watched, so the answer is to hold the standard, not to relax.
The hexagram in brief
Wind over the earth: a tower from which all is seen, and which all can see. Observe deeply before acting, and remember that you are watched — sincerity even before the offering is made.
Look carefully at the whole picture and at yourself; set an example rather than issuing orders.
The judgment
觀：盥而不薦，有孚顒若。Kwân shows (how he whom it represents should be like) the worshipper who has washed his hands, but not (yet) presented his offerings;—with sincerity and an appearance of dignity (commanding reverent regard).
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 觀 Observation has its own page:
- 初六Six at the beginninga child's view · shallow sight · far from the ruler
- 六二Six in the second placepeeping through a door · narrow view · inside only
- 六三Six in the third placeviewing one's own life · advance or retreat · the threshold
- 六四Six in the fourth placethe kingdom's glory · guest of the king · close to power
- 九五Nine in the fifth placethe ruler views himself · seen in the people · central and correct
- 上九Nine at the topviewed by all · no rest yet · beyond office
The same hexagram for
Questions
- Does hexagram 20, Observation, mean yes or no?
- As an answer to a yes-or-no question, Guan does not say yes or no; it says 'look first'. The judgment describes a moment before action — hands washed, offering not yet made — and the hexagram's whole counsel is that the quality of your seeing decides the outcome. If the question is whether to act now, the answer is to hold the action and complete the observation, with sincerity visible to those watching you.
- What does Hexagram 20, 觀 Observation, mean?
- Wind over the earth: a tower from which all is seen, and which all can see. Observe deeply before acting, and remember that you are watched — sincerity even before the offering is made.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).