The name 名
Dùn 遯 has 豚, a piglet, inside the radical for walking: a household pig that has run off. Also written 遁, it means to withdraw, to slip away. The Yijing usually names a hexagram from the noble person’s side, and here it is the yang lines above that are leaving.
The image 象
Qián, heaven, above; Gèn, mountain, below: a mountain beneath the sky. Two yin lines rise together from below while four yang lines withdraw above. Don’t be fooled by the count of four; what matters is the trend, not the number. Dùn is one of the twelve sovereign hexagrams, paired with the sixth lunar month: still hot, but yin is quietly climbing, and summer is nearly over.
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 Gèn, the youngest son; above is Qián, the father. The two yin lines inside Gèn are growing upward from the bottom, a younger generation steadily gaining ground, while the father’s four yang lines withdraw step by step. This is not being driven out but an elder reading the trend and stepping aside in time. To retreat with grace is itself a mark of character.
Line 2, “bound with the hide of a yellow ox; none can loosen it”: yellow is the colour of the centre, the ox comes from Kūn’s docility, the hide is tough leather; lines 2–4 form a nuclear Xùn, the cord, and Gèn is the hand. A central, upright person ties himself in the firmest way to the ruler at Line 5 and will not easily let go.
Line 3, “a retreat that is tied; illness and danger; keeping servants is auspicious”: the third place tops the lower trigram, a manager caught in the middle who wants to leave but is held by the two yin lines below. That kind of attachment is no basis for great decisions; it suits only looking after one’s household and staff. Like someone who wants to quit but cannot let go of the team, the longer it drags, the more it wears him down.
Line 4, “a retreat one cares for: good for the noble person, not for the petty”: Line 4 has entered the upper Qián and has the strength to leave at once. But it corresponds with Line 1 and sits in the nuclear Xùn of lines 2–4, the trigram of wavering, so it is reluctant to go. The noble person looks at the whole situation and leaves cleanly; the petty person sees only what he gains and gets stuck in the stopping of the lower Gèn.
Top line, “a generous retreat; nothing not beneficial”: the top place is already outside office and has no ties below, so its withdrawal is the most spacious and free. Like someone who arranged the handover early and retires with a clear conscience, there is nothing forced about going.
Turn Dùn upside down and you get Dà Zhuàng: the same four yang and two yin lines, retreating here and advancing there. The Xu Gua says nothing can retreat for ever, so Great Strength comes next. The lesson: today’s withdrawal preserves the strength to grow again later; and seen from the other side, your exit is someone else’s entrance.
Lines 2–4 make Xùn and lines 3–5 make Qián, together forming Gòu, Coming to Meet: the first yin appearing, an unplanned encounter. The inner start of retreat is that small first meeting: the moment you sense the shadow has just come in the door is the moment to start planning the way out.
In sequence 序
物不可以久居其所，故受之以遯；遯者退也。
The Xu Gua: things cannot stay in their place forever, so Retreat follows; retreat means withdrawing. Constancy spoke of lasting, but nothing occupies one position for good, so withdrawal comes next. Only by stepping back can one advance again: the rhythm of contracting and extending.
The judgment 辭
遯：亨。小利貞。
The judgment: retreat brings success; for the small, steadiness is fitting. Why success, if one is withdrawing? Because one retreats and then succeeds: it is the body that steps away, while one’s way continues. Stepping aside when the tide is wrong is how one keeps oneself and one’s principles intact. “The small” are the yin lines below, urged to stay in place rather than press upward.
Commentary on the judgment 彖
彖曰：遯亨，遯而亨也。剛當位而應，與時行也。小利貞，浸而長也。遯之時義大矣哉！
The Tuan: retreat succeeds because the firm line holds its proper place and has a partner (Line 5 with Line 2), and so “moves with the time.” For the small, steadiness is fitting because yin is growing little by little; it should come slowly. Then the exclamation: great indeed is the meaning of timing in retreat. When to withdraw, and how, is a weighty matter.
The great image 象
象曰：天下有山，遯；君子以遠小人，不惡而嚴。
The Great Image: a mountain under heaven, Retreat; the noble person keeps the petty at a distance, not with hatred but with reserve. No compromise, no small talk, but no driving them into a corner either. Confucius warned that hating the unworthy too intensely only provokes disorder. People who go astray often have their own circumstances; there is no need to hate them, and no need to keep them company.
The six lines 爻
Ruling line Line 2 is the defining line, the rising yin, yet central and correct, it holds firm; Line 5 is the firm one “in its proper place with a partner” praised by the Tuan. Their correspondence keeps the retreat orderly.
The path of the six lines, bottom to top
Line 1 is the tail of the retreating column: the last to go is in the most danger, and should make no other move. Line 2 binds itself in place with yellow ox-hide, unwavering in loyalty to Line 5. Line 3, at the top of the lower trigram, wants to leave but is held by dependants until it becomes a sickness. Line 4 enters the upper trigram and has the means to leave cleanly; it all depends on whether one is noble or petty. Line 5 is the admirable retreat, the one in office stepping down at the right moment and in the right way; by the top line the retreat is generous, wholly outside the situation and free.
初六遯尾，厲，勿用有攸往。
In plain words
Retreating at the tail: danger. Do not set out.
Close reading
The retreat moves upward, and those on top leave first; the bottom line is the tail of the column, the last to see what is happening, deep in danger. A yin line in a yang place, not correct, it answers Line 4, but being mild and lowly it can easily lie low. The Small Image: if one does not go, what calamity can there be?
If you drew this line
If you have noticed late and are on the back foot, don’t rush to act or make yourself visible. Stay low and quiet, and harm passes.
六二執之用黃牛之革，莫之勝說。
In plain words
Bound with thongs of yellow ox-hide that no one can loosen.
Close reading
A yin line in a yin place, central and correct, answering Line 5: it must stay put. The imagery is precise: yellow is the colour of the centre; the ox is Kūn, which the lower trigram would become if yin rose one step further; Gèn is skin, hence hide, and also the hand; Lines 2–4 form an inner Xùn, rope. Together: a hand gripping a cord of yellow ox-hide. 說 here stands for 脫, to loosen. The Small Image: it strengthens its resolve, the resolve to support Line 5.
One level deeper
Line 2, “bound with the hide of a yellow ox; none can loosen it”: yellow is the colour of the centre, the ox comes from Kūn’s docility, the hide is tough leather; lines 2–4 form a nuclear Xùn, the cord, and Gèn is the hand. A central, upright person ties himself in the firmest way to the ruler at Line 5 and will not easily let go.
If you drew this line
Your place is right and you have a trustworthy partner above. Don’t follow others out; hold your resolve and keep things steady.
九三係遯，有疾厲，畜臣妾吉。
In plain words
Retreat held back by ties: affliction and danger. Keeping servants and maids is auspicious.
Close reading
A yang line in a yang place, correct, sitting right on top of the two yin lines: it takes the brunt and is caught by them, hence danger. Its counterpart at the top is also yang, so there is no correspondence and no support: hence affliction, and the Small Image adds weariness. 臣妾 are the household’s menservants and maids. When the retreat cannot be halted, give up great undertakings and tend to the people and affairs close by; that is auspicious. The Small Image is explicit: not for great affairs.
One level deeper
Line 3, “a retreat that is tied; illness and danger; keeping servants is auspicious”: the third place tops the lower trigram, a manager caught in the middle who wants to leave but is held by the two yin lines below. That kind of attachment is no basis for great decisions; it suits only looking after one’s household and staff. Like someone who wants to quit but cannot let go of the team, the longer it drags, the more it wears him down.
If you drew this line
Tied down and unsupported, this is no time for big ventures or for seeking a name. Turn to those close to you and tend to daily life.
九四好遯君子吉，小人否。
In plain words
Retreat done fittingly: good fortune for the noble person; the petty person is stuck.
Close reading
Now inside the upper Qián, it has strength and can see the whole picture: it can leave when it chooses. But as a yang line in a yin place, answering Line 1 below, it is reluctant, and it sits in the inner Xùn, the trigram of indecision. The noble person weighs the whole situation and leaves cleanly; the petty person sees only the advantages of old ties and is dragged back into Gèn’s stopping. The Small Image: the noble retreat well, the petty are stuck. One situation, two levels of character.
One level deeper
Line 4, “a retreat one cares for: good for the noble person, not for the petty”: Line 4 has entered the upper Qián and has the strength to leave at once. But it corresponds with Line 1 and sits in the nuclear Xùn of lines 2–4, the trigram of wavering, so it is reluctant to go. The noble person looks at the whole situation and leaves cleanly; the petty person sees only what he gains and gets stuck in the stopping of the lower Gèn.
If you drew this line
When it is time to go, go cleanly and gracefully; don’t let old ties and present gains hold you back.
九五嘉遯，貞吉。
In plain words
A fine retreat: steadiness brings good fortune.
Close reading
A yang line in a yang place, central and correct, answering Line 2. Still far from the advancing yin, it reads the trend early and does not cling to power, while not abandoning its present duties. From “fitting” to “fine,” the quality of retreat rises a level. The Small Image: it rectifies its resolve, mirroring Line 2’s “strengthens its resolve”: Line 2 holds firm to Line 5’s purpose, and Line 5 keeps that purpose upright.
If you drew this line
Plan your exit while things are still good; hand over when it is time, but while you remain, do the work well.
上九肥遯，无不利。
In plain words
Retreat that soars away: nothing is unfavourable.
Close reading
肥 is read as 飛, to fly: retreat that soars away. At the very top, in heaven’s position and within Qián, which is heaven itself, the sky is wide open and nothing blocks the way. A yang line in a yin place with no partner in Line 3, it has no ties at all; hence the Small Image: there is nothing to doubt. From “fitting” to “fine” to “soaring,” the higher the line, the lighter the leaving.
One level deeper
Top line, “a generous retreat; nothing not beneficial”: the top place is already outside office and has no ties below, so its withdrawal is the most spacious and free. Like someone who arranged the handover early and retires with a clear conscience, there is nothing forced about going.
If you drew this line
With nothing holding you, let go and leave without worry. Leaving is not ending; on another stage, you will return.
A Reading Before Retirement
Someone about to retire, uneasy about the future, drew this line: “retreat that soars away; nothing unfavourable.” In this hexagram the yang lines leave one by one, and the top line goes first: a fitting image of retirement. Read as “flying,” it means leaving from the highest place for open skies. Free of duties, one can plan a new life and travel: contentment with one’s lot. For someone not retiring, the line points instead to stepping back in order to move forward.
Stories 典
Mencius and Wang Huan: Reserve Without Hatred
Mencius held a ministerial post in Qi and was sent to Teng to offer condolences; the king sent his favourite, Wang Huan, governor of Ge, as deputy. Wang Huan called on Mencius morning and evening, yet on the whole road there and back Mencius never once discussed the mission with him. His disciple Gongsun Chou finally asked why: the post of a Qi minister is no small thing, and the road to Teng is not short. Mencius replied: since someone has already taken charge of it, what was there for me to say? No quarrel, no accusation, and no pretence of friendliness either: exactly the Great Image’s distance from the petty, without hatred but with reserve.
Stepping Back Is Moving Forward
A rice-planting verse traditionally attributed to the Five Dynasties monk Budai runs, in sense: seedlings in hand, I plant the whole field; bowing my head, I see the sky in the water; a pure mind is the Way; stepping back is, after all, moving forward. The planter works backwards across the paddy, and by the time he has retreated to the edge, the field is full. That is Dùn’s teaching: retreat is not defeat but gathering for the next move, as a jumper crouches before the leap. Know when and how to step back, and stepping back becomes progress.
Insight 悟
Not one line of Dùn says “misfortune,” and four promise good fortune or nothing unfavourable: it is, in fact, a good hexagram, provided one understands timing. Read the trend, not just the numbers; the earlier you see it, the more composed the withdrawal. It is the body that retreats, not the way: no clinging, no resentment, no compromise with the petty and no hatred either. In the same situation one person leaves gracefully and another is trapped by self-interest; the difference is character and choice. To serve when one can and stop when one should is itself a form of wisdom.