The name 名
Sǔn 損 means to reduce or take away; the hand radical suggests removing something by hand. The name sounds alarming, yet the judgment opens with 'supreme good fortune.' Of all sixty-four judgments, only Sun and Ding say that. The secret is in what gets reduced: one's own share, given for the good of others.
The image 象
Below is Duì, the marsh; above is Gèn, the mountain. A marsh at the mountain's foot feeds it: trees flourish on the slopes and birds and beasts multiply, so what is below is drawn down to enrich what is above. The beauty of a mountain landscape often lies less in the peak than in its reflection in still water. A rushing river cannot mirror a mountain; only a quiet lake can. The hexagram comes from Tai, Peace: Tai's third line rises to the top, and the lower trigram gives up one of its yang lines to complete the upper.
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 Duì, the youngest daughter; above is Gèn, the youngest son: the same young pair as in Xián, only their places are swapped. In Xián the young man lowers himself to court the young woman; here she sits below and gives part of what she has to complete him. Decrease is not simply loss: someone below chooses to give so that the whole household stands firmer.
Line 3, “when three travel together, one is lost; when one travels alone, he finds a friend”: the hexagram comes from Tài, whose three lower yang lines set out together; one of them rises to become the top line, the one “lost,” and up there it pairs with Line 3, the friend found. Three together leaves one too many; one alone meets a companion.
Line 4, “reducing his ailment, he makes it swift and has joy”: lines 2–4 form a nuclear Zhèn, restless agitation, like an old habit of fidgeting. Line 4 corresponds with Line 1, whose text says “when the task is done, go quickly”: help hurries up from below while the fault is dropped quickly above. The two “quicklys” answer each other, and there is joy.
Line 5, “someone adds to him a tortoise worth ten strings of shells; it cannot be refused”: from Line 2 to the top, the three yin in the middle make an enlarged Lí, and Lí is the tortoise, here a great treasure-tortoise. Lines 3–5 also form a nuclear Kūn, and ten is earth’s number. Together: a tortoise worth ten. The ruler who receives with an open heart is given a gift too great to decline.
Top line, “without decreasing, he increases; he gains servants but no household”: this line was once part of Tài’s lower Qián and left that home when it rose. Yet below it lies the nuclear Kūn of lines 3–5, the multitude. The one who gave ends up depending on no single family, but is upheld by the many.
Turn Sǔn upside down and you get Yì; the two are a pair. Sǔn’s Line 5 and Yì’s Line 2 sit in matching places and carry almost the same words about the ten-string tortoise. One event is decrease seen from the giver and increase seen from the receiver. If you draw Sǔn, ask: whose increase is your giving becoming?
Change all six lines of Sǔn and you get Xián, which is also what you get by swapping its trigrams. Xián is young love at first sight, the quickest response; Sǔn is the giving that follows once feeling becomes real. First the stirring of Xián, then the sacrifice of Sǔn: what makes a bond last is not only feeling but who is willing to give way first.
In sequence 序
緩必有所失，故受之以損。
The Sequence says: easing must bring some loss, so Xie is followed by Sun. Once a difficulty has been relieved, people relax, and loss follows. But the loss need not be feared. If one deals with others in good faith and puts one's strength to work for them, 'it is favorable to have somewhere to go.'
The judgment 辭
損：有孚，元吉。无咎，可貞，利有攸往。曷之用？二簋可用享。
The judgment: in decrease, with sincerity, there is supreme good fortune and no blame; one may be steadfast, and it is favorable to have somewhere to go. What should one use? Two bowls of grain suffice for the offering. A gui 簋 is a ritual vessel, round outside and square within, that held millet and rice. Ordinary rites used six or eight; two is about as plain as an offering gets. The spirits look at sincerity, not at the size of the offering. To give grudgingly, or with a quiet plan to recoup it later, betrays what Decrease means.
Commentary on the judgment 彖
彖曰：損，損下益上，其道上行。損而有孚，元吉，无咎，可貞，利有攸往。曷之用？二簋可用享；二簋應有時。損剛益柔有時，損益盈虛，與時偕行。
The Tuan: Sun decreases what is below to increase what is above, and its way moves upward. Decrease joined with sincerity is why it is supremely auspicious. It keeps stressing timing: 'Two bowls must suit the time; decreasing the firm to increase the yielding has its time; decrease and increase, fullness and emptiness, move together with the time.' When sacrifice is called for, make it. The full moon must wane and the waning moon grows full again; decrease and increase turn with the seasons.
The great image 象
象曰：山下有澤，損；君子以懲忿窒欲。
'Below the mountain, a marsh: Decrease. The noble person curbs anger and stifles desire.' So what should be decreased? Anger flares most easily and is hardest to master, so it must be checked. Desire, once it takes hold, is hard to cut off, so it must be blocked at the outset. The Song thinker Zhou Dunyi singled out these four characters in his Tongshu. Aristotle observed that anyone can get angry; what is hard is to be angry at the right time, with the right person, and to the right degree.
The six lines 爻
Ruling line The top line, risen from Tai's third, is what makes the hexagram Sun; the fifth, in the seat of honor, receives the benefit that the whole decrease produces and again earns 'supreme good fortune.'
The path of the six lines, bottom to top
Line 1 finishes its own work, then hurries to help, while weighing how much to give. Line 2 holds its ground and helps without diminishing itself. Line 3 is the turning point: when three travel, one must leave, and the one who leaves finds a partner higher up. Line 4, entering the upper trigram, accepts help and quickly sheds its own faults. Line 5 receives with an open heart and is given a gift it cannot refuse. At the top, the receiver becomes a giver, increasing others without loss to itself, and wins the support of the many.
初九已事遄往，无咎，酌損之。
Variant Shown as 「已事」; some editions read 「祀」.
In plain words
In matters of sacrifice, go swiftly; no blame. But weigh how much to decrease.
Close reading
A yang line in a yang place and in correspondence with the fourth, it 'goes swiftly' to help; the Small Image says its intent accords with the one above. But this is only the start of Decrease. One of Tai's three yang lines has already gone up; give away another and the figure would no longer be Sun. Hence 'weigh how much.' The Small Images of all three yang lines in this hexagram speak of intent, because here the yang lines set their hearts on helping the yin.
If you drew this line
Help promptly where help is due, but within your means. There is no need to give everything at the outset.
九二利貞，征凶，弗損益之。
In plain words
Steadfastness is favorable; setting out brings misfortune. Without decreasing oneself, one can increase the other.
Close reading
A yang line in a yin place, but central in the lower trigram and in correspondence with the fifth. One yang line has already gone up, so the two that remain need not rush to follow; hence 'setting out brings misfortune.' The Small Image says it takes the center as its aim: having the center, it need not decrease further. Giving of oneself also needs limits; it cannot go on until nothing of oneself is left.
If you drew this line
Hold your ground and make no further sacrifice. Keep to the middle, and the other side will benefit anyway.
六三三人行，則損一人；一人行，則得其友。
In plain words
When three walk together, they lose one; when one walks alone, he finds a companion.
Close reading
A yin line in a yang place, not rightly placed, but in correspondence with the top line. In Tai the three yang lines below and the three yin above keep to themselves, and yin and yang never meet. When the third yang goes up, three travellers lose one; but the one who goes alone gains the fourth and fifth as companions, while this third line keeps company with the first and second. As a result every line in Sun has a partner. The Small Image says 'with three there is suspicion': three tend to mistrust one another, while pairs find one mind.
One level deeper
Line 3, “when three travel together, one is lost; when one travels alone, he finds a friend”: the hexagram comes from Tài, whose three lower yang lines set out together; one of them rises to become the top line, the one “lost,” and up there it pairs with Line 3, the friend found. Three together leaves one too many; one alone meets a companion.
If you drew this line
Crowds breed suspicion. Rather than juggling many parties, find the one who truly answers you. If each side gives a little ground, both will have a way forward.
It Speaks of Becoming One
The Great Commentary quotes this line after saying: 'Heaven and earth intermingle, and the ten thousand things are refined; male and female join their essences, and the ten thousand things are born.' When yin and yang mingle closely, the world grows rich; when male and female unite, life comes into being. Then it cites 'three walking lose one, one walking finds a companion,' and sums it up: 'It speaks of becoming one.' The point is not the arithmetic but the meeting of yin and yang until two become one. The Chinese saying that 'three monks have no water to drink' captures how three people tend to pass the burden around.
六四損其疾，使遄有喜，无咎。
In plain words
Decrease the affliction; let help come quickly, and there is joy. No blame.
Close reading
A yin line in a yin place, rightly placed, and in correspondence with the first line. Lines two to four form an inner Zhen, the trigram of agitation, which here becomes a restless 'affliction.' 'Quickly' echoes the first line's 'go swiftly': when the first hurries to help, the fourth's affliction is relieved. The 'joy' is not festivity but the lifting of a burden, like a patient sent home from hospital or someone freed from debt. Help must be timely; once it is delayed, the kindness loses much of its worth.
One level deeper
Line 4, “reducing his ailment, he makes it swift and has joy”: lines 2–4 form a nuclear Zhèn, restless agitation, like an old habit of fidgeting. Line 4 corresponds with Line 1, whose text says “when the task is done, go quickly”: help hurries up from below while the fault is dropped quickly above. The two “quicklys” answer each other, and there is joy.
If you drew this line
Your trouble can be eased. The key is to accept the right help readily, and the sooner the better. It is also a good time to drop your own bad habits quickly.
六五或益之，十朋之龜弗克違，元吉。
In plain words
Someone bestows a tortoise worth ten strings of cowries; it cannot be refused. Supreme good fortune.
Close reading
A yielding line in the seat of honor, and central, the fifth corresponds with the second below and supports the top line above: it has backing on both sides. In antiquity cowries served as money, five to a string and two strings to a peng, so a tortoise worth ten peng was a great treasure. Lines two to six form an enlarged Li, the trigram of the tortoise, and lines three to five form an inner Kun, whose number is ten: together, 'a tortoise worth ten peng.' The Small Image says the blessing comes from above. Here the fruit of the whole hexagram's giving finally comes to rest.
One level deeper
Line 5, “someone adds to him a tortoise worth ten strings of shells; it cannot be refused”: from Line 2 to the top, the three yin in the middle make an enlarged Lí, and Lí is the tortoise, here a great treasure-tortoise. Lines 3–5 also form a nuclear Kūn, and ten is earth’s number. Together: a tortoise worth ten. The ruler who receives with an open heart is given a gift too great to decline.
If you drew this line
Valuable help arrives unbidden. There is no need for polite refusals; accept it gracefully and honor where it came from.
上九弗損益之，无咎，貞吉，利有攸往，得臣无家。
In plain words
Increasing others without decrease to oneself; no blame; steadfastness brings good fortune; it is favorable to have somewhere to go. One gains servants but no longer has a home.
Close reading
A yang line in a yin place, corresponding with the third, the top line is the one that rose from Tai's lower Qian. It came up precisely to enrich the upper trigram, hence 'increasing without decrease.' Below it lies the inner Kun of lines three to five, the trigram of the multitude and of subjects, so it 'gains servants.' But it has left its original all-yang household, Qian, so it has 'no home.' The Small Image says it 'greatly attains its intent': the resolve to help others is here fulfilled.
One level deeper
Top line, “without decreasing, he increases; he gains servants but no household”: this line was once part of Tài’s lower Qián and left that home when it rose. Yet below it lies the nuclear Kūn of lines 3–5, the multitude. The one who gave ends up depending on no single family, but is upheld by the many.
If you drew this line
Your wish to serve others can be fulfilled, and it will win support. But public responsibility usually costs private time, so be ready for that, and make a point of caring for those at home.
Gaining Servants, Losing a Home
A teacher with a gift for administration was invited to become deputy head of a university hospital. Unsure whether to accept, he cast and drew this line. The name Decrease sounds worrying, but the hexagram is about giving of oneself and its judgment is 'supreme good fortune.' 'Gaining servants' meant moving into management with people to lead; 'no home' warned that the work would be demanding and family time would shrink. Since the line also says 'no blame, steadfastness brings good fortune, favorable to go,' he could serve the public with an easy mind. He took the post, and because of those four words he made a deliberate effort to spend more time with his family.
Stories 典
Sartre and Camus
Camus came from French Algeria. When his first novel, The Stranger, appeared, Sartre, already established in Paris, wrote a long essay on it, and the two became friends. During the German occupation both moved in the cultural circles of the Resistance. Camus won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957; Sartre, eight years his senior, was awarded it in 1964 and declined. But around 1952 a political quarrel, fought out in print, ended their friendship for good. Its spirit is often summed up like this: much brought us together and little divided us, but that little was already too much. Anger in the moment and an inability to tolerate difference can wreck a rare friendship. That is exactly what 'curbing anger' is meant to cure.
A Morning's Anger
Fan Chi asked Confucius how to recognize delusion. The Master answered: 'In a morning's anger to forget your own safety, and even that of your parents: is that not delusion?' Win a fight against someone who cannot beat you, and he may take revenge on your family instead. Mencius likewise observed that if you kill another man's father or brother, he will kill yours, so that in effect you have harmed your own kin. Confucius said that at forty he was 'free of delusion.' Read alongside this passage, part of what that means is mastery of one's emotions: no one thinks clearly in a rage.
Min Ziqian: One Son Cold
Confucius' disciple Min Sun, styled Ziqian, was literally named 'Decrease,' and in the school's category of virtuous conduct he ranked second only to Yan Hui. Confucius praised him: 'What filial piety Min Ziqian has! No one doubts what his parents and brothers say of him.' His family praised him, and outsiders found nothing to question. A story handed down by later tradition says his mother died when he was small. His stepmother bore two sons and, in winter, dressed them in cotton padding while giving him clothes stuffed with reed floss. When his father found out and meant to send her away, Ziqian knelt and pleaded: 'With mother here, one son is cold; with mother gone, three sons are alone.' Moved and ashamed, the stepmother changed her ways, and the family lived in harmony thereafter. Willingly decreasing oneself for the sake of the whole household is the spirit of Sun.
Insight 悟
Giving of oneself is a principle that serves a whole life: people who give first are welcome everywhere, and help finds its way back to them. But Decrease has three conditions. It must be sincere, without keeping score or expecting a return. It must be measured: the first line weighs how much, and the second gives nothing more, since no one should give until nothing is left. And it must be timely: sacrifice when sacrifice is called for. In self-cultivation, what most needs decreasing is anger and desire. The Great Commentary says decrease 'is hard at first and easy later': letting go is difficult in the beginning and becomes a habit in time, and that is how 'decrease keeps harm at a distance.'