Hexagram 21 as yes or no
Hexagram 21 Biting Together as a yes-or-no answer
As an answer to a 'should I' question, Shi He says yes if what you are asking about is the removal of an obstacle — a confrontation, an avoided decision, a rule that has to be applied. The judgment is 'success', and the Tuan explains it as the jaws closing once what lies between them is bitten through. If the question is whether to wait for the obstacle to dissolve on its own, the answer is no; no line here rewards waiting.
The changing line tells you what kind of bite it is. In the lower trigram, Zhen, the matter is beginning: a light check to be accepted (line one), an easy case that goes deeper than expected (line two), an old one that stings (line three). In the upper trigram, Li, the matter is in the light and the question is whether you can carry it: with straightness and labour (line four), with central firmness under scrutiny (line five) — or, if the top line moves, whether you are the one who refused to hear; then stop and listen before deciding.
The hexagram in brief
Thunder and lightning: jaws closing on an obstacle. Something is in the way and must be bitten through — favourable for administering justice.
Deal with the obstruction firmly and fairly, with clear penalties and clear rules rather than lingering resentment.
The judgment
噬嗑：亨。利用獄。Shih Ho indicates successful progress (in the condition of things which it supposes). It will be advantageous to use legal constraints.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 噬嗑 Biting Together has its own page:
- 初九Nine at the beginningfeet in the stocks · stopped early · no blame
- 六二Six in the second placebiting soft flesh · easy and deep · riding the strong
- 六三Six in the third placeold dried meat · meeting poison · wrong place
- 九四Nine in the fourth placemeat on the bone · metal arrows · hard but right
- 六五Six in the fifth placedried meat · yellow gold · firm amid danger
- 上九Nine at the topthe cangue · deaf to warning · evil
The same hexagram for
Questions
- Does hexagram 21, Biting Together, mean yes or no?
- As an answer to a 'should I' question, Shi He says yes if what you are asking about is the removal of an obstacle — a confrontation, an avoided decision, a rule that has to be applied. The judgment is 'success', and the Tuan explains it as the jaws closing once what lies between them is bitten through. If the question is whether to wait for the obstacle to dissolve on its own, the answer is no; no line here rewards waiting.
- What does Hexagram 21, 噬嗑 Biting Together, mean?
- Thunder and lightning: jaws closing on an obstacle. Something is in the way and must be bitten through — favourable for administering justice.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).