The name 名
Yí 頤 is the jaw, and by extension nourishment, as in the phrase “nourishing one's years.” The figure is a mouth: a solid yang line above and below like rows of teeth, with four hollow yin lines between, open and waiting. Nourishment begins with the belly and widens to health, character, the people one supports, and the people one depends on.
The image 象
Above is Mountain, which stays still; below is Thunder, which moves. In chewing, the upper jaw holds and the lower jaw works, exactly as the trigrams show. The whole figure is also an enlarged Lí (Fire), the image of the tortoise and the eye. A mouth takes food in and lets words out, so this gua concerns both the scramble for food and the trouble that speech can bring.
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 Zhèn, the eldest son; above is Gèn, the youngest. Two brothers, one moving and one still, like the lower jaw chewing beneath an unmoving upper jaw. No parents are present: the children have grown and must find their own food, and learn to feed others too. Yí asks: who feeds you, and whom do you feed?
Line 1, “you set aside your sacred tortoise and watch my jaws move; misfortune”: the whole hexagram, solid outside and hollow within, looks like an enlarged Lí, and Lí is the tortoise, which can live long without eating, a symbol of self-sufficiency. Line 1 drops its own tortoise and gapes at someone else’s meal; envying another’s rice bowl, it throws away its own resources.
Line 3, “going against nourishment; persisting is ominous; ten years of no use”: Line 3 sits in both nuclear Kūn trigrams (lines 2–4 and 3–5), and ten is earth’s number and the end of counting. At the top of Zhèn it grabs restlessly for food and goes against right nourishment, so it is unusable for a long time.
Line 5, “going against the norm; staying steady is auspicious; one cannot cross the great river”: a yin line on the throne cannot feed the realm by itself, so it breaks with convention and relies on the top line. The top place is the sage who has stepped behind the scenes, which is why the top line reads “the source of nourishment.” A ruler who leans on the elder beside him does well, but must not take great risks himself.
Change every line of Yí and you get Dàguò, Great Excess; such opposite pairs are rare among the sixty-four. Yí has four yin lines in the middle, empty and waiting to be filled: how to nourish. Dàguò has four yang lines in the middle, too heavy to bear: overload. Drawing Yí, glance at Dàguò: nourishment taken wrongly turns, next, into a weight one cannot carry.
Lines 2–5 of Yí are all yin, so the nuclear hexagram is Kūn. Inside the open mouth lies the receptiveness of mother earth: real nourishment is not only taking in, but holding and transforming like soil, and then growing something for others.
In sequence 序
物畜然後可養，故受之以頤；頤者養也。
The Sequence says that once things are stored up they can be nourished, hence Nourishment follows Great Accumulation. Great Accumulation spoke of “not eating at home,” being fed in public service; here one must “seek one's own food.”
The judgment 辭
頤：貞吉。觀頤，自求口實。
“Nourishment: steadfastness brings good fortune. Observe the nourishing; seek for yourself what fills the mouth.” Of the four virtues only steadfastness is named, a warning to hold to what is right and resist impulse. To observe nourishment is to look both at whom a person feeds and at how he feeds himself. Seeking one's own food means sustenance must be earned, not waited for.
Commentary on the judgment 彖
彖曰：頤貞吉，養正則吉也。觀頤，觀其所養也；自求口實，觀其自養也。天地養萬物，聖人養賢，以及萬民；頤之時大矣哉！
The Tuan says nourishment is fortunate when it is correct: nourishing is always a choice, and the question is whether it is the right one. We know people by what they nourish and by how they nourish themselves, as a firm's hiring shapes its culture. Heaven and earth nourish all things; the sage nourishes the worthy and through them the people. Great indeed is the time of Nourishment.
The great image 象
象曰：山下有雷，頤；君子以慎言語，節飲食。
“Thunder beneath the mountain: Nourishment. The noble person is careful in speech and moderate in eating and drinking.” Careless words invite trouble; careless eating invites illness. A life is made of words and deeds, and governing the mouth alone is already a discipline.
The six lines 爻
Ruling line The top line, “the source of nourishment,” governs the gua: through it all are fed, like a teacher to the ruler whom even the fifth line follows. The other yang line, at the bottom, throws away what it has and is not esteemed.
The path of the six lines, bottom to top
Line 1 has its own sacred tortoise but leaves it unused and envies another’s bowl: the start is already wrong. Line 2 looks down for support and then up to the top line, wrong both ways; going brings misfortune. Line 3, at the top of the lower trigram, restlessly defies right nourishment and is useless for ten years. Line 4 enters the upper trigram and turns to Line 1 for help, but in order to feed others, fixed on its aim like a watching tiger, so it is auspicious. Line 5 cannot feed the realm itself and leans on the top line; steady, it is fortunate, but should not take risks. The top line is the source from which all are fed: a heavy, dangerous charge that ends well, and it can cross the great river.
初九舍爾靈龜，觀我朵頤，凶。
In plain words
You cast aside your own sacred tortoise and stare at me working my jaws: misfortune.
Close reading
A yang line in a yang place, correctly placed and paired with the fourth line, it sits at the restless start of Thunder and is drawn to the food in the mouth above. The tortoise, long-lived and self-sufficient, is what this line already has. The Small Image adds that such envy is “not worth esteeming”: it gives up self-respect.
One level deeper
Line 1, “you set aside your sacred tortoise and watch my jaws move; misfortune”: the whole hexagram, solid outside and hollow within, looks like an enlarged Lí, and Lí is the tortoise, which can live long without eating, a symbol of self-sufficiency. Line 1 drops its own tortoise and gapes at someone else’s meal; envying another’s rice bowl, it throws away its own resources.
If you drew this line
Look at what you already have before chasing what others display. Envy stirred from outside is a poor guide.
The House in the City Centre
Someone living on the edge of Taipei, at a time of soaring prices, considered moving to the city centre and drew this line. His own house, with modest renovation, could be an ideal home; stretching for the centre meant a decade or more of heavy debt. It was what Laozi calls acting rashly without knowing the constant. He dropped the plan, looked again at his own house, and found much to value in it.
六二顛頤，拂經，于丘頤，征凶。
In plain words
Turning upside down to seek nourishment from below goes against the norm; reaching for the high hill, to advance brings misfortune.
Close reading
Central and correctly placed, the second line has no partner in the fifth, so it turns back to lean on the yang below, riding over it, which is the inversion. Reaching for the top line means crossing too far toward a mountain whose nature is to stop. The Small Image says that advancing “loses its own kind.” Misfortune on a second line is rare in the whole book.
If you drew this line
Don't scramble for support by reversing the proper order or reaching too high. Stay with your peers and go step by step.
六三拂頤，貞凶，十年勿用，无攸利。
In plain words
Going against nourishment itself: even persistence is ill-fated; for ten years do nothing, nothing is gained.
Close reading
A yin line in a yang place, at the peak of restless Thunder, it must move, yet its partner at the top sits inside Mountain, which stops it. Its neighbours are all yin, offering no support. “Ten years” reflects its place inside two inner Kun figures; ten is the earth number and the end of counting, meaning a very long time. The Small Image calls this a great departure from the Way; it is the worst of the three ill-fated lower lines.
One level deeper
Line 3, “going against nourishment; persisting is ominous; ten years of no use”: Line 3 sits in both nuclear Kūn trigrams (lines 2–4 and 3–5), and ten is earth’s number and the end of counting. At the top of Zhèn it grabs restlessly for food and goes against right nourishment, so it is unusable for a long time.
If you drew this line
Forcing anything now will fail. Withdraw, reflect, and rethink how you sustain yourself; this is not a season for action.
六四顛頤吉，虎視眈眈，其欲逐逐，无咎。
In plain words
Turning downward for nourishment, yet good fortune: watching like a tiger, its desire pressing on and on, no blame.
Close reading
Like the second line it turns to the yang line below, but here the two are proper partners, and it already stands in the upper trigram, a yin line correctly placed. Hence good fortune, in contrast with the third line. The fourth is the minister's seat: to care for the people it needs authority, focus and drive, the tiger's unblinking gaze. The Small Image says its blessings spread widely from above.
If you drew this line
In a position of responsibility, show resolve and focus, and make sure what you gather is shared fairly.
六五拂經，居貞吉，不可涉大川。
In plain words
Departing from the norm: abiding in steadfastness brings good fortune; do not cross the great river.
Close reading
A yin line in the ruler's seat, central but not correctly placed, with no partner in the second line. A ruler should feed the people, yet this one must lean on the line above, hence “departing from the norm.” The Small Image says it is fortunate by following the one above in compliance: like a ruler heeding a trusted teacher, it does well to stay put and take no great risks.
One level deeper
Line 5, “going against the norm; staying steady is auspicious; one cannot cross the great river”: a yin line on the throne cannot feed the realm by itself, so it breaks with convention and relies on the top line. The top place is the sage who has stepped behind the scenes, which is why the top line reads “the source of nourishment.” A ruler who leans on the elder beside him does well, but must not take great risks himself.
If you drew this line
Hold your ground and lean on wiser counsel. Postpone major changes, such as a change of course or career.
上九由頤，厲吉，利涉大川。
In plain words
The source of nourishment: danger, yet good fortune; it is favourable to cross the great river.
Close reading
A yang line in a yin place and not the ruler, it carries danger and must stay watchful. Yet without it at the top of Mountain the jaw cannot close and no meal is finished; it has a partner in the third line and the fifth defers to it. The Small Image speaks of great blessing. A top line favourable for crossing the great river is unique in the book.
If you drew this line
You have the strength and the standing to undertake something large. Go ahead, but keep a sober sense of the risks.
A Reading on Changing Jobs
A person meeting a reader for the first time asked for a casting and drew this line. The reader guessed the question concerned career, and it did: a possible change of jobs. A top line that is favourable for crossing the great river suggests someone of real capability, for whom such a move is sound. In a gua where the lower lines scramble for food, such strength stands out; still, “danger” warns against complacency.
Stories 典
Where Confucius Lodged in Wei
In antiquity one judged a minister by whom he hosted and, when abroad, under whose roof he stayed. The Mencius (Wan Zhang I) records a rumour that Confucius had lodged in Wei with a favoured attendant and in Qi with a eunuch. Mencius denied it flatly: in Wei Confucius stayed with the worthy officer Yan Chouyou, advancing and retiring by ritual and right, and saying of success or failure only that it was fate. Mencius then gave a rule: judge ministers at court by the guests they receive, and ministers from afar by the hosts they choose. That is what this gua means by observing what a person nourishes: character shows in the company one keeps.
Can Good Pay Keep Officials Clean?
Singapore is often praised for low corruption, one reason given being that civil servants are paid well enough to stay honest. Many films show the opposite bind: an underpaid policeman, tempted by gangsters, thinks of his child's medical bills and tuition and begins to waver. This is Nourishment in public life: the sage “nourishes the worthy and so reaches the people.” Those who look after others must themselves be properly sustained if they are to serve without mixing in private gain. Yet institutions are only the outer support; the final safeguard lies in how each person nourishes himself.
Insight 悟
Nourishment holds up a mouth as a mirror of life: what we eat and say, whom we feed and who feeds us, are all choices. The lower three lines grasp outward and fare badly; the upper three can share and fare well. Fortune turns less on how much food there is than on the attitude in which it is sought. Later in life, when time and means allow, is the moment to nourish character, read the classics and ask what life is for, not only to seek amusement. Earning one's own bread, guarding one's words, eating in measure: plain as they sound, they are the work of a lifetime.