Hexagram 44 as yes or no
Hexagram 44 Encounter as a yes-or-no answer
As an answer to a yes-or-no question Gou says no to the thing that has just presented itself — 'do not take her' is the judgment's only instruction. The hexagram's logic is temporal: what is offered looks slight now, but the yin at the bottom is the beginning of a sequence that ends in Kun, and the Tuan's 'cannot be kept company with for long' is the point. Ask not whether the thing is attractive but whether it will still be acceptable when it has grown.
A changing line in the lower trigram, Xun, is about the arrival itself: line one says stop it now, line two says you can hold it if you keep it to yourself, line three says you are not involved and should stay that way. A changing line in the upper trigram, Qian, shifts the answer toward your own conduct: line four says the no is already too late and you must repair your absence; line five says yes to sheltering from above without engaging; the top line says you have refused so hard that you meet nothing at all.
The hexagram in brief
Wind under heaven: one yin line arriving beneath five yang. An encounter — the woman is strong; do not marry her. Something small and tempting enters; watch it from the start.
Meet what comes with awareness; enjoy the encounter, but don't let a small influence take over.
The judgment
姤：女壯，勿用取女。Kâu shows a female who is bold and strong. It will not be good to marry (such) a female.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 姤 Encounter has its own page:
- 初六Six at the beginningmetal brake · the first yin · the lean pig
- 九二Nine in the second placefish in the wrapper · containment · not for the guests
- 九三Nine in the third placeno skin on the buttocks · halting · not yet drawn in
- 九四Nine in the fourth placeno fish in the wrapper · lost the people · trouble arises
- 九五Nine in the fifth placewillow sheltering the gourd · hidden brilliance · falls from heaven
- 上九Nine at the topmeeting with the horns · exhausted at the top · regret but no blame
The same hexagram for
Questions
- Does hexagram 44, Encounter, mean yes or no?
- As an answer to a yes-or-no question Gou says no to the thing that has just presented itself — 'do not take her' is the judgment's only instruction. The hexagram's logic is temporal: what is offered looks slight now, but the yin at the bottom is the beginning of a sequence that ends in Kun, and the Tuan's 'cannot be kept company with for long' is the point. Ask not whether the thing is attractive but whether it will still be acceptable when it has grown.
- What does Hexagram 44, 姤 Encounter, mean?
- Wind under heaven: one yin line arriving beneath five yang. An encounter — the woman is strong; do not marry her. Something small and tempting enters; watch it from the start.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).