The name 名
Pǐ 否 (not the everyday fǒu, “no”) means blocked, stopped up. People long to meet and be understood; Pǐ is the state of being cut off, which is why the Judgment calls it contrary to what humans need. It is the 否 of the proverb “when obstruction peaks, peace returns.”
The image 象
Heaven above, Earth below: everything seems in its proper place, and that is precisely the trouble. Heaven rises, Earth sinks, and they drift ever further apart with no exchange. Where Peace pictured a ruler going down among the people, Standstill pictures power aloof on high while the voice from below never reaches it.
Layers of images 層
A gua can be read on several levels at once: the trigrams as members of a family (father, mother, eldest to youngest sons and daughters), the six lines as ranks in an organisation (from newcomer to ruler), and as forces of nature and animals. Each extra level adds meaning to the line texts.
Read as a family
Below is Kūn, the mother; above is Qián, the father. Each seems to be in its proper place, father above and mother below, but the father’s energy keeps rising and the mother’s keeps sinking, back to back, drifting further apart. What a family should fear most is not quarrelling but each living a separate life and no longer talking; Pǐ is that silent separation.
Line 2, “wrapped and carried; for the petty this is fortune, for the great person blockage brings success”: the second place is a low official, corresponding with Line 5, embraced and looked after from above. A petty person takes such favours gladly; a person of character prefers to decline them, keeping himself intact in a closed age, and that is his way through.
Line 4, “there is a mandate; no harm; companions share the blessing”: lines 3–5 form a nuclear Xùn, wind, which stands for commands. Line 4 is the minister beside the ruler, acting on the ruler’s order; the blockage begins to loosen, and those of like mind share the good.
Line 5, “ending the blockage; the great person has good fortune. ‘It may perish, it may perish’: tie it to a clump of mulberry”: lines 2–4 form a nuclear Gèn, stopping, so the blockage below has already been halted, and Line 5, outside that Gèn, steps in to end it. Yet the ruler must keep telling himself “it could fall,” the way something tied to the roots of a mulberry thicket holds fast.
Lines 2–4 and 3–5 of Pǐ make up Jiàn, Gradual Progress. In a blocked age the inner way out is the slow one: nothing opens all at once; one advances like the wild goose stage by stage, like a tree on the mountain growing year by year. Line 5’s “tie it to the mulberry” is exactly that patient rooting.
In sequence 序
物不可以終通，故受之以否。
The Sequence: things cannot flow forever, so Peace is followed by Standstill. No one stays unobstructed for a lifetime. What one can do is guard fullness wisely — stay modest, never push to the very end, and remember adversity in the midst of success.
The judgment 辭
否之匪人，不利君子貞，大往小來。
“Standstill is contrary to humankind. It does not favor the noble person’s persistence. The great departs, the small arrives.” The yang lines have withdrawn to the outer trigram while yin fills the inner. The noble way wanes, the petty way waxes. Head-on resistance gains nothing now; the noble person yields to the trend, steps back, and keeps himself intact.
Commentary on the judgment 彖
彖曰：否之匪人，不利君子貞，大往小來。則是天地不交而萬物不通也，上下不交而天下无邦也。內陰而外陽，內柔而外剛，內小人而外君子，小人道長，君子道消也。
The Commentary inverts Peace line by line: Heaven and Earth do not commune and nothing flows; high and low do not commune and there is no true state under Heaven. Yielding within, hard without; the petty inside, the noble outside — petty people kept close, worthy ones kept at a distance. Yet as Peace turns to Standstill, Standstill too will turn.
The great image 象
象曰：天地不交，否；君子以儉德辟難，不可榮以祿。
“Heaven and Earth do not commune: Standstill. The noble person thereby restrains himself in virtue to avoid calamity, and does not seek glory through emolument.” Draw in, cultivate yourself, and do not chase office and its honors now; rank gained in such a season tends to bring disgrace later. As Confucius put it: when the state has lost the Way, keep your conduct upright but your words modest — there is no merit in a pointless sacrifice.
The six lines 爻
Ruling line The nine in the fifth place rules. Firm, central and correct in the seat of honor, and alert to the danger of collapse, it alone can bring the standstill to a halt.
The path of the six lines, bottom to top
Line 1 pulls up the reed with its roots, as in Tài, but here three yin lines are linked; now one should stay upright and not move with the crowd. Line 2 is wrapped in favour from above: the petty think it fortune, the noble prefer to keep their blockage. Line 3, at the top of the lower trigram, “bears shame”: a yin in a yang place, receiving favour with a guilty heart. Entering the upper trigram, Line 4 acts on the mandate and the blockage loosens. Line 5 brings it to a halt while warning itself constantly; at the top the blockage is overturned, first closed, then joy.
初六，拔茅茹以其彙，貞吉。亨。初六，拔茅茹以其彙，貞吉。亨。
In plain words
Pull up the couch grass and its matted roots come too, each with its kind. Steadfastness brings good fortune; success.
Close reading
Almost the same words as the first line of Peace, but Peace said “advance,” Standstill says “stay steadfast”: now withdrawal is the good course, holding one’s ground together with one’s kind. A yin line in a yang place, it corresponds with the fourth. The Small Image: its heart is with the sovereign — the Qián trigram above — so its loyalty to the right remains. That the noble person can “succeed” even in poverty is a distinctly Confucian idea.
If you drew this line
Do not push for position or recognition now. Hold steady alongside like-minded people and use the time for reflection and self-cultivation.
六二，包承，小人吉，大人否。亨。六二，包承，小人吉，大人否。亨。
In plain words
Bearing and enduring: good fortune for the small person. For the great person, standstill — yet success.
Close reading
Yin in a yin place, central and correct, answered by the fifth — a sound line. In an age that favors the petty, the small person does well; the great person is blocked, yet gets through, because his joy never depended on success or failure. The Small Image: he does not throw his group into disorder, but stays steady among his own.
One level deeper
Line 2, “wrapped and carried; for the petty this is fortune, for the great person blockage brings success”: the second place is a low official, corresponding with Line 5, embraced and looked after from above. A petty person takes such favours gladly; a person of character prefers to decline them, keeping himself intact in a closed age, and that is his way through.
If you drew this line
In unfavorable circumstances, learn to bear and accommodate without fighting for short-term gains. Keep hold of what you value inwardly and the situation cannot truly confine you.
Besieged Between Chen and Cai
Wandering among the states, Confucius was trapped between Chen and Cai for seven days without cooked food, yet sat inside playing the zither and singing. Outside, Zilu and Zigong grumbled: hounded from state to state, how could the Master still sing? Yan Hui carried their words in. Confucius called them and said that for the noble person, to reach the Way is success and to fail it is real poverty; this hardship was neither. Zhuangzi closes the tale: those who had the Way were happy in hardship and happy in success, for what they enjoyed was neither.
六三，包羞。六三，包羞。
In plain words
Harboring shame.
Close reading
A yin line in a yang place, neither central nor correct; the Small Image says flatly that its position is improper. Its two yin companions below are still holding the line, while it eyes the fourth line to lean on and the top line it corresponds with — wanting both sides at once. No verdict of fortune is needed: the shame itself is the signal.
If you drew this line
If you notice yourself angling for advantage on every side, take the discomfort seriously; stop early and return to your proper place.
九四，有命，无咎，疇離祉。九四，有命，无咎，疇離祉。
In plain words
Acting under a mandate, no blame; companions cling to it and share the blessing.
Close reading
疇 stands for companions, 離 for clinging, 祉 for blessing. A yang line in a yin place, it receives the command of the fifth; lines three to five form Wind, the image of orders carried abroad. It sits directly above the multitude of Kūn and corresponds with the first line, so the people gather to it. The Small Image: its will can now be carried out — the standstill is past its midpoint.
One level deeper
Line 4, “there is a mandate; no harm; companions share the blessing”: lines 3–5 form a nuclear Xùn, wind, which stands for commands. Line 4 is the minister beside the ruler, acting on the ruler’s order; the blockage begins to loosen, and those of like mind share the good.
If you drew this line
A turn is beginning. Take on responsibility under proper authority, and share the results with those who support you rather than claiming the credit.
九五，休否，大人吉。其亡其亡，繫于苞桑。九五，休否，大人吉。其亡其亡，繫于苞桑。
Variant Shown as 「繫于苞桑」; some editions read 「包」.
In plain words
Standstill is brought to rest; good fortune for the great person. “It may perish, it may perish!” — so it is tied fast to a clump of mulberry.
Close reading
休 means to halt. Firm, central and correct in the ruler’s seat, answered by the second line — the Small Image calls its position fitting. Lines two to four form Mountain, Stillness, so the slide below has already paused, and the fifth can bring it to rest. It knows that after Standstill come Contemplation and Splitting Apart, with ever fewer yang lines; hence the constant “it may perish.” Like mulberry roots knotted in a clump, that vigilance is what holds.
One level deeper
Line 5, “ending the blockage; the great person has good fortune. ‘It may perish, it may perish’: tie it to a clump of mulberry”: lines 2–4 form a nuclear Gèn, stopping, so the blockage below has already been halted, and Line 5, outside that Gèn, steps in to end it. Yet the ruler must keep telling himself “it could fall,” the way something tied to the roots of a mulberry thicket holds fast.
If you drew this line
The situation can be stabilized, but only with a lively sense of danger. The safer things look, the more you should ask what could be lost, and strengthen the foundations now.
Mindful of Danger in Safety
The Great Commentary has Confucius expand on this line: danger comes to the one who feels secure in his seat; ruin comes to the one who is sure he will endure; disorder comes to the one who believes his rule is in good order. Therefore the noble person, when safe, does not forget danger; when secure, does not forget ruin; when things are well ordered, does not forget disorder — and so keeps himself safe and his state preserved. The phrase “mindful of danger in times of peace” comes from here, and it is close to the whole book’s lesson.
上九，傾否，先否後喜。上九，傾否，先否後喜。
In plain words
Standstill overturned: first obstruction, then joy.
Close reading
Usually the top line is an ending under strain; in Standstill the ending is a release, dawn after a long night. Yang in a yin place, it corresponds with the third, and words like joy tend to accompany such correspondence — a wish answered. The Small Image: when standstill reaches its end it topples; how could it last?
If you drew this line
The blockage is ending; prepare to begin again. Once things improve, keep the vigilance that brought you through.
Stories 典
Upright Deeds, Modest Words
Confucius said: when the state has the Way, be upright in word and deed; when it has lost the Way, be upright in deed but modest in word. Here 危 means upright. Elsewhere he said: do not enter a state in peril, do not dwell in a state in chaos — the same character now meaning danger. Read together, they show that Confucian integrity is not mere confrontation. Principles are never surrendered, but neither is life thrown away in an age of obstruction. That is what the Great Image means by restraining oneself in virtue to avoid calamity.
Shun and the Lifelong Concern
Mencius said that people live through trouble and perish through ease, and that the noble person has a lifelong concern but no passing anxieties. The concern is this: Shun was a man, and so am I; Shun became a model for the world, while I remain ordinary. Mencius describes the young Shun living deep in the mountains, among trees and rocks, roaming with deer and boars, hardly different from any mountain dweller — yet when he heard a good word or saw a good deed, it moved him like a river bursting its banks. When outward progress is blocked, as in Standstill, this is the concern to turn toward: lean years are years for cultivation.
Insight 悟
Standstill teaches that in blocked times there is no need to rail at fate or to throw oneself against the wall. Draw in, cultivate virtue, do not grasp at office; act uprightly, speak modestly. Hardship is an opportunity for self-cultivation, and joy lies in the Way, not in success or failure. And no hexagram is good or bad forever: Peace ends with a fallen wall, Standstill ends with joy. Drawing it is no cause for alarm — adjust your attitude, prepare the next step, and carry vigilance into the better days that follow.