Hexagram 28 as yes or no
Hexagram 28 Great Excess as a yes-or-no answer
Da Guo answers a yes-or-no question with 'yes, this is a time that calls for action — but the structure is strained, so choose how you act with great care'. The judgment says plainly 'favourable to have somewhere to go; success', and the Tuan explains why: the strong lines are in excess but two of them are central, and the hexagram moves with gentleness below and gladness above. Doing nothing is not an option; the beam is already bending.
The changing line tells you which kind of action. Line one says yes, with scrupulous preparation. Line two says yes, through an alliance you would not normally make. Line three says no — because you are too rigid to carry it and must first accept help. Line four says yes, and stay faithful to the one support that is holding you. Line five says the step will produce a fine show and no lasting result. The top line says the cost will be total and the choice may still be honourable; only you can weigh that.
The hexagram in brief
The lake drowning the trees: the ridgepole bends under too much weight. An extraordinary situation, strong in the middle and weak at the ends — something must give way or be done.
Act decisively but gently to relieve the load; extraordinary times excuse extraordinary measures, not recklessness.
The judgment
大過：棟橈，利有攸往，亨。Tâ Kwo suggests to us a beam that is weak. There will be advantage in moving (under its conditions) in any direction whatever; there will be success.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 大過 Great Excess has its own page:
- 初六Six at the beginningwhite rushes · extreme care · weak below
- 九二Nine in the second placewithered poplar sprouts · unlikely pairing · renewal
- 九三Nine in the third placeridgepole sags · too rigid · refusing help
- 九四Nine in the fourth placeridgepole holds · tempered strength · no other attachments
- 九五Nine in the fifth placewithered poplar flowers · brief bloom · neither praise nor blame
- 上六Six at the topin over the head · going under · no blame
The same hexagram for
Questions
- Does hexagram 28, Great Excess, mean yes or no?
- Da Guo answers a yes-or-no question with 'yes, this is a time that calls for action — but the structure is strained, so choose how you act with great care'. The judgment says plainly 'favourable to have somewhere to go; success', and the Tuan explains why: the strong lines are in excess but two of them are central, and the hexagram moves with gentleness below and gladness above. Doing nothing is not an option; the beam is already bending.
- What does Hexagram 28, 大過 Great Excess, mean?
- The lake drowning the trees: the ridgepole bends under too much weight. An extraordinary situation, strong in the middle and weak at the ends — something must give way or be done.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).