The name 名
The character pictures the wooden frame round a well-head, four crossed timbers enclosing the water. Under the ancient well-field system a square of land was divided into nine like the character, eight families each farming one plot and sharing the central public field; so the well also stands for community and common life.
The image 象
Water 坎 above, Wood and Penetration 巽 below: a wooden bucket goes down into the water and draws it up. “Water above wood,” says the Great Image, which also brings to mind the well-sweep. A well does not move when the village moves; many draw from it without exhausting it, and left alone it does not overflow. It nourishes everyone steadily.
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 Xùn, the eldest daughter; above is Kǎn, the middle son. Xùn is wood and entering, Kǎn is water: the eldest daughter is like the wooden bucket lowered into the well, bringing up the deep water the middle son stands for so the whole household can drink. The Shuo Gua makes Xùn both the eldest daughter and the straight cord, so rope and bucket are both hers. Daily care for a family rests on exactly this kind of steady, unremarkable, repeated giving.
Line 1, “the well is muddy and no one drinks; at the old well no birds come”: Line 1 lies beneath the nuclear Duì of lines 2–4, which means breakage and gaps; under ruin, it is an abandoned old well with mud at the bottom where not even birds come. Someone who never renews himself is like an old well no one draws from.
Line 2, “the well-hole squirts onto minnows; the jar is broken and leaks”: here “shooting” means water running downward. Line 2 is in the nuclear Duì, a gap; above it lies the nuclear Lí of lines 3–5, the big belly, a water jar. A great jar with a hole in its base lets the water seep down to the minnows and none can be drawn up. Line 2 does not correspond with Line 5, so its talent goes unused from above.
Line 3, “the well is cleaned but no one drinks; it grieves my heart… if the king were clear-sighted, all would share the blessing”: the third place is the top of the lower trigram, someone capable but not yet promoted. The well is clean, yet no one drinks, and onlookers ache for him. Lines 3–5 form a nuclear Lí, brightness, reaching all the way to the ruler’s seat: if only the ruler sees clearly enough to notice this good well, everyone will benefit.
Line 4, “the well is lined with bricks; no blame”: lining means building the well wall with brick. Line 4 lies in the nuclear Lí, fire, which turns clay into brick. This line yields no water; it only repairs and strengthens the walls. Maintenance that shows no immediate result is exactly what lets the well supply water for years to come.
Inverted, Jǐng becomes Kùn. Kùn is talent hemmed in, its water drained away; Jǐng is deep water drawn up and offered daily. Read together: the same gift is Kùn when trapped and Jǐng when drawn upon. What makes the difference is the rope and the bucket, the channel through which talent actually gets used.
Lines 2–4 of Jǐng form Duì and lines 3–5 form Lí, so its nuclear hexagram is Kuí, two women under one roof with different minds. A well serves a whole village whose households disagree and go their own ways, yet all drink from the same water. The well’s inner task is to keep giving fairly to everyone in the midst of their differences.
In sequence 序
困乎上者，必反下，故受之以井。
The Sequence says: “Whoever is confined above must return below; hence the Well follows.” When the heights become a dead end, one goes back down to the source. Turn Kùn 困 upside down and you have Jǐng 井: from exhaustion one returns to the humblest, most daily way of nourishing life.
The judgment 辭
井：改邑不改井，无喪无得，往來井井。汔至亦未繘井。羸其瓶，凶。
The town may move; the well does not. Nothing lost, nothing gained; people come and go and draw in good order. But if the rope nearly reaches the top and the jar breaks before it clears the rim: misfortune. Why should so fine a hexagram end on misfortune? Because a well exists to nourish, and water that never leaves the shaft feeds no one. As Mencius said, a well dug ever so deep that stops short of the spring is still an abandoned well.
Commentary on the judgment 彖
彖曰：巽乎水而上水，井；井養而不窮也。改邑不改井，乃以剛中也。汔至亦未繘井，未有功也。羸其瓶，是以凶也。
The Tuan: entering the water and raising it up, that is the well; “the well nourishes without exhaustion,” and nourishment is the heart of the hexagram. The well does not move because firmness holds the center in 九二 and 九五. Water not yet out of the shaft has “achieved nothing,” and a broken jar is misfortune. Laozi said the same: people usually fail just when they are about to succeed.
The great image 象
象曰：木上有水，井；君子以勞民勸相。
“Water above wood: the Well. The noble person encourages the people and urges them to help one another.” Well-water belongs to no single household; it calls for queues and sharing. Those in charge should secure people's livelihood and foster mutual aid among them.
The six lines 爻
Ruling line 九五, central and correct in the place of honor, is where the cold spring can finally be drunk: the governing line. The Tuan's “firm and central” refers to both 九二 and 九五.
The path of the six lines, bottom to top
Line 1 is the mud at the bottom: an old well no one draws from, where not even birds come. Line 2 has water, but it seeps away below like a jar with a broken base, and none can be drawn. Line 3, at the top of the lower trigram, is a well cleaned yet untouched, waiting for a clear-sighted ruler to notice it. Line 4, entering the upper trigram, gives no water but relines the well with brick, laying the ground for the long term. Line 5 is the cool clear spring, finally drunk, where the well’s worth fully shows. At the top the well is left uncovered for all to draw from, its trust unchanging: supreme good fortune.
初六井泥不食，舊井无禽。
In plain words
The well is mud and cannot be drunk; to an old well no creatures come.
Close reading
Yin in a yang place, off position, at the very bottom of the shaft, and unanswered by 六四, also yin. The hexagram derives from 泰; this line was once the Earth trigram's soil, which falling into water became mud. The Small Image: “it is too low,” and “the times have cast it aside.” The whole hexagram restores an old well into a new one, and this is where the work begins.
One level deeper
Line 1, “the well is muddy and no one drinks; at the old well no birds come”: Line 1 lies beneath the nuclear Duì of lines 2–4, which means breakage and gaps; under ruin, it is an abandoned old well with mud at the bottom where not even birds come. Someone who never renews himself is like an old well no one draws from.
If you drew this line
What you have is worn out. Admit it, and start cleaning from the bottom; don't seek recognition yet.
九二井谷射鮒，甕敝漏。
Variant Shown as 「甕敝漏」; some editions read 「瓮」.
In plain words
Water seeps away through the well's bottom; the jar is cracked and leaks.
Close reading
Yang in a yin place, central but off position; with 九五 also yang, it has no partner and leans down toward 初六, so the water runs downward. 射 means to flow out, and 鮒 is read as 柎, the bottom; to take it as “shooting little fish” in a well makes little sense. It sits in the nuclear Lake (breakage), under the nuclear Fire (a big belly, like a jar): hence the cracked jar. The Small Image: “no one stands with it.” Without support from above, ability goes to waste.
One level deeper
Line 2, “the well-hole squirts onto minnows; the jar is broken and leaks”: here “shooting” means water running downward. Line 2 is in the nuclear Duì, a gap; above it lies the nuclear Lí of lines 3–5, the big belly, a water jar. A great jar with a hole in its base lets the water seep down to the minnows and none can be drawn up. Line 2 does not correspond with Line 5, so its talent goes unused from above.
If you drew this line
Resources and energy are leaking away, and the problem is internal. Fix the leak and the foundation before talking about results.
九三井渫不食，為我心惻，可用汲，王明，並受其福。
In plain words
The well is cleaned, yet no one drinks, and my heart aches. It could be drawn from; if the king were clear-sighted, all would share the blessing.
Close reading
Yang in a yang place, correct, and in resonance with 上六, so it can say “it could be drawn.” At the top of Wind, the thigh, it is like a man who has gone down into the water to clean the well; but the water is still in the lower trigram, below the rim, so no one drinks. Facing Water above, the trigram of anxiety, its heart aches. Lines three to five form nuclear Fire, brightness, pointing to the clear-sighted ruler in 九五. The Small Image: “seeking the king's clarity, to receive blessing.” The worthy is ready; what is lacking is a ruler who sees.
One level deeper
Line 3, “the well is cleaned but no one drinks; it grieves my heart… if the king were clear-sighted, all would share the blessing”: the third place is the top of the lower trigram, someone capable but not yet promoted. The well is clean, yet no one drinks, and onlookers ache for him. Lines 3–5 form a nuclear Lí, brightness, reaching all the way to the ruler’s seat: if only the ruler sees clearly enough to notice this good well, everyone will benefit.
If you drew this line
You are ready but not yet recognized. Don't despair, and don't oversell yourself; keep your quality and wait for someone who understands it.
Sima Qian on Qu Yuan and the King's Clarity
Qu Yuan served King Huai of Chu loyally, was slandered and pushed aside, and the king was later detained by Qin and died in captivity. Closing Qu Yuan's biography, Sima Qian quotes this very line: the well is cleaned yet no one drinks; if the king were clear-sighted, all would share the blessing. Then he sighs: “When the king is not clear-sighted, what blessing can there be?” However clean the water, an unseeing ruler leaves the people unblessed. For two thousand years the line has been the lament of talent left unused.
六四井甃，无咎。
In plain words
The well is lined with brick: no blame.
Close reading
Yin in a yin place, correct, serving the central and correct 九五 above, unanswered by 初六. The image is vivid: Earth from 泰 has become Water, so earth and water make clay; nuclear Fire bakes it into brick; Wind below is the craftsman, laying the courses one by one. The Small Image: “repairing the well.” Its strength may not achieve great things, but by keeping to its task and putting itself in order, it ensures the jar will not shatter on the way up.
One level deeper
Line 4, “the well is lined with bricks; no blame”: lining means building the well wall with brick. Line 4 lies in the nuclear Lí, fire, which turns clay into brick. This line yields no water; it only repairs and strengthens the walls. Maintenance that shows no immediate result is exactly what lets the well supply water for years to come.
If you drew this line
A time for internal repair and self-improvement, not display. Do the groundwork thoroughly and there will be no fault.
九五井冽，寒泉食。
In plain words
The well is clear; its cold spring can be drunk.
Close reading
Yang in a yang place, central and correct, in the seat of honor. Clear and cold is the highest praise for well-water. The well is now restored and the water has reached the top for all to drink. The Small Image: “central and correct.” A leader with both virtue and position nourishes the people like a sweet spring, and under such a ruler the worthy are glad to serve.
If you drew this line
Things are ready, and your work can truly benefit others. Stay balanced and upright, and make sure the results reach those who need them.
King Wuding Finds Fu Yue
After King Wuding of Shang took the throne he issued few commands for three years, intent on finding a worthy minister. He dreamed of a sage named Yue and sent men to search; at Fu Xian they found a convict labourer building walls. Wuding spoke with him, found him truly wise, and made him chief minister, and Shang revived. A worthy in low station is like cleaned well-water: only a clear-sighted ruler draws it up to nourish the realm.
上六井收勿幕，有孚元吉。
In plain words
The well-mouth is narrowed but not covered. With sincerity, supreme good fortune.
Close reading
Yin in a yin place, correct, answered by 九三 and resting on 九五, hence sincerity. The broken yin line looks like an open well-mouth. Narrowing it is for safety; leaving it uncovered lets everyone draw. The Judgment feared failure at the last step, and this line completes that step. The Small Image: “supreme fortune at the top: the great work completed.” It is the only top yin line in the whole book called supremely auspicious, and what it honors is open-handed sharing.
If you drew this line
It is harvest time. Open what you have achieved to others, keep faith and hold nothing back, and the benefit will last.
Stories 典
The Well-Field and Mutual Watch
Mencius described the well-field to Duke Wen of Teng: one square li, nine hundred mu, the central hundred public, the eight families each with a hundred of their own; they finished the public work first before daring to tend their own fields. In the Book of Odes the farmers pray, “Rain on our public field, and then on our own.” In such a village, Mencius said, people would not leave the district even to move house or bury their dead; “going out and coming in they befriend one another, they keep watch together, and in sickness they support one another,” and so the people live in harmony. This is the Great Image's “encouraging the people to help one another”: one well, one field, nurturing a community of mutual care.
The Old Gardener of Hanyin
Passing south of the Han River, Zigong saw an old man who had dug a tunnel down into a well and was carrying water up in a jar to his vegetables: much effort, little result. Zigong told him of a device of carved wood, heavy behind and light in front, that lifts water as if pulling it out, called a well-sweep. The old man flushed, then laughed: my teacher told me that whoever has machines will have machine-like affairs, and whoever has those will grow a machine-like heart; I know of it, but would be ashamed to use it. It is Zhuangzi's parable, yet it preserves a real picture of ancient well-drawing, the wooden sweep that puts “water above wood.” The same well serves Zhuangzi for the simplicity of the heart and the Commentaries for nurture and mutual aid.
Insight 悟
Read bottom to top, the six lines restore an old well: clear the silt, stop the leak, wash it out, line the walls, bring up the spring, open the mouth. Self-cultivation and real work go the same way, from the foundation up, with no step skipped; and the hardest step is usually the last. As Laozi said, be as careful at the end as at the beginning and nothing will fail. Then leave the well uncovered so all can share it. Many begin well; few end well. The Well asks you to be among the few.