The name 名
Duì 兌 is the old form of 說, read as 悅, “joy”; its image is the lake and its shape is a mouth. Two solid lines below and one broken line above: “the Lake is open at the top,” a mouth opening, a lake’s surface lying open to the sky. Joy is something spoken and shown, which is why the Miscellany says the Lake reveals itself.
The image 象
Lake upon lake. Two bodies of water joined, feeding each other, rarely run dry; two mouths facing each other are a conversation. In the Later Heaven arrangement Duì stands in the west and in autumn, the season of harvest, when joy comes of itself.
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
Duì above and Duì below: the youngest daughter twice. In the trigram one yin line rests on top of two yang lines, and that top line is what makes Duì the youngest daughter: soft and smiling on the outside, solid underneath. The youngest daughter is the most indulged in a family, quick to speak and to show her joy, so Duì is the mouth and delight. Two youngest daughters facing each other are like two connected lakes, or two mouths in conversation; joy can nourish both, or shrink to mere pleasant talk.
Line 3, “coming to please; ominous”: this is the top line of the lower Duì, the very line that makes the lower youngest daughter. The third place is the exposed top of the lower trigram; a yin line in a yang place, neither central nor correct, it comes down to the two yang lines to win their favour. Joy that arrives in order to please has already gone sour, so it is ominous.
Line 4, “weighing pleasures, not yet at rest; keeping disease at a distance brings joy”: Line 4 sits between the two Duì, two mouths talking at once, still negotiating with nothing settled. It must turn away the flattery of Line 3 below while serving Line 5 above. Lines 3–5 form a nuclear Xùn with Line 4 at its centre, Xùn meaning “near profit, threefold,” so once it draws the line, joy follows.
Line 5, “trusting what strips away; there is danger”: Line 5 is the ruler, and right beside it sits the top line, the one most skilled at drawing others into pleasure. A ruler who trusts someone whose job is to keep him happy, like a boss who only hears good news, finds his authority quietly eroded, and so there is danger.
Top line, “drawing others into joy”: this is the top line of the upper Duì, the line that makes the upper youngest daughter. At the very top with no partner, it can only reach out and pull others into pleasure. The youngest daughter’s charm lies in joy that flows freely; once it becomes deliberate enticement, joy is just a way of leading people along, and the Small Image says it is “not yet bright.”
Change all six lines of Duì and you get Gèn: opposite the youngest daughter stands the youngest son. Duì opens the mouth, Gèn holds still; Gèn’s Line 5, “stilling the jaw, words have order,” supplies exactly what Duì lacks. Joy needs restraint and speech needs measure, or Duì’s delight drifts into lightness.
Duì’s lines 2–4 make Lí and lines 3–5 make Xùn, which together form Jiārén, the Family. Inside the youngest daughter’s joy there is a household: lasting happiness comes from the long-term trust and care among family members, not from a moment’s excitement.
In sequence 序
入而后說之，故受之以兌；兌者說也。
The Sequence: having entered, one is pleased, hence Duì; Duì means joy. Xùn was entering; only once we have truly entered a situation and reached one another does gladness follow. First settling in, then joy: that is the natural order of human feeling.
The judgment 辭
兌：亨。利貞。
“Duì: success. Steadfastness is fitting.” Compared with the full “origin, success, fitness, steadfastness,” the “origin” is missing. One explanation pairs the four virtues with the seasons: Duì belongs to autumn, between summer and winter, so success, fitness and steadfastness appear but not the spring-like origin. Joy opens the way, but only when it stands on what is right; otherwise it slides into flattery and indulgence.
Commentary on the judgment 彖
彖曰：兌，說也。剛中而柔外，說以利貞，是以順乎天，而應乎人。說以先民，民忘其勞；說以犯難，民忘其死；說之大，民勸矣哉！
The Commentary: “Firm at the centre, yielding on the outside.” The yang lines hold the two middle places, the yin lines the outer edges: sincere within, gentle without, so joy can be steadfast, “in accord with Heaven and responsive to people.” Then: “Lead the people with joy and they forget their toil; face danger with joy and they forget death.” Win people’s gladness first and they will bear hardship without complaint. The greatest power of joy is that it lifts people’s spirits.
The great image 象
象曰：麗澤，兌；君子以朋友講習。
“Lakes joined together: Duì. The noble person discusses and practises with friends.” Two lakes leaning on each other replenish each other and do not run dry. Duì is a mouth, and two of them face each other; so the noble person studies and practises together with friends. Because we can speak, experience is shared, knowledge accumulates and culture advances. As the Record of Learning says, to study alone without friends is to be narrow and ill-informed.
The six lines 爻
Ruling line The Lake is open at the top, and the scarce line is the decisive one, so the top line is the likely ruler, though only “likely,” since its joy depends on being drawn in by others. The firm central lines two and five are the ground of true joy.
The path of the six lines, bottom to top
Line 1 is joy out of plain good will, with nothing to gain, and so it is auspicious. Line 2 treats others with sincerity, and even with Line 3 fawning nearby its regrets fade. Line 3, at the top of the lower trigram, goes out of its way to please, joy turned into ingratiation, and so it is ominous. Line 4 enters the upper trigram and weighs things between two mouths, and only after drawing a line against the wrong pleasures does it find celebration. Line 5 holds the throne yet trusts the one beside it whose job is to keep it happy, and its authority wears away. The top line reaches the end, where joy has become a lure and lost its first naturalness.
初九和兌，吉。
In plain words
Harmonious joy. Good fortune.
Close reading
Yang in a yang place, correct and energetic, within the lower lake (mouth, pleasure) and echoed by the lake above, the two calling back and forth: harmonious joy. Duì arises from Dàzhuàng 大壯 by swapping lines three and five. There, line one already had no partner at four; after the change no line has one, so line one has lost nothing. “Its conduct raises no doubt.”
If you drew this line
Meet others with an easy, even temper, without rivalry or comparison; act openly, and gladness will come of itself.
九二孚兌，吉，悔亡。
In plain words
Sincere joy. Good fortune; regret vanishes.
Close reading
Yang in a yin place, not correct but central; the solid line stands for good faith. The regret is that it has no partner at five. But in Dàzhuàng its partner was the yin fifth line, which has come down to become line three: the old friend is now next door, so regret vanishes. “Its will is true.” Line one harmonises, line two trusts; neither chased joy, it simply arrived.
If you drew this line
Deal with people in good faith, without contrivance, and the bond will hold; early misgivings dissolve through honest talk.
六三來兌，凶。
In plain words
Joy that comes seeking. Misfortune.
Close reading
Yin in a yang place, not correct, not central, riding over line two and beneath line four, unanswered by the top. It is the fifth line of Dàzhuàng come down, the very line that creates the Lake, hence “joy that comes”: pleasure deliberately produced, with a whiff of flattery, made plainer by its place in the nuclear Xùn (entering, complying). The Small Image cites only its improper position, but line four is improper too; what condemns line three is the contrivance. Joy pursued by design tends to backfire.
One level deeper
Line 3, “coming to please; ominous”: this is the top line of the lower Duì, the very line that makes the lower youngest daughter. The third place is the exposed top of the lower trigram; a yin line in a yang place, neither central nor correct, it comes down to the two yang lines to win their favour. Joy that arrives in order to please has already gone sour, so it is ominous.
If you drew this line
Do not curry favour, force good cheer or flatter; plain sincerity is more reliable than any strategy.
九四商兌，未寧，介疾有喜。
In plain words
Weighing joy, not yet at rest. Keep the affliction at a distance and there will be gladness.
Close reading
Yang in a yin place, not correct, between the two lakes like a pair of mouths in negotiation, and inside the nuclear Xùn, which wavers: talks unsettled. It had no partner in Dàzhuàng either, so the change cost it nothing. 介 means to set apart: with the ingratiating line three below and the ruler above, it turns to gladness once it holds the improper pull at arm’s length. “There is cause for celebration”: of the four yang lines only this one has a yin neighbour, and it sits in Xùn’s “threefold profit.”
One level deeper
Line 4, “weighing pleasures, not yet at rest; keeping disease at a distance brings joy”: Line 4 sits between the two Duì, two mouths talking at once, still negotiating with nothing settled. It must turn away the flattery of Line 3 below while serving Line 5 above. Lines 3–5 form a nuclear Xùn with Line 4 at its centre, Xùn meaning “near profit, threefold,” so once it draws the line, joy follows.
If you drew this line
While matters are still being negotiated, first isolate whatever is harmful or entangling; keeping a proper distance often lets trouble and misunderstanding resolve themselves.
Keep the Sickness at a Distance
During a bird-flu outbreak, a student in an I Ching class asked what to do in the face of the threat. A casting gave this line: “Weighing joy, not yet at rest; keep the affliction at a distance and there will be gladness.” While everyone was still debating, the answer was in the text: separate yourself from the disease, avoid handling or approaching poultry, keep your distance. Going back through all the line texts that touch on illness, none fitted better. The Great Commentary says that when one asks in words, the response comes like an echo: a sincere question gets a clear reply.
九五孚于剝，有厲。
In plain words
Trusted by what is wasting away: danger.
Close reading
Yang in a yang place, central and correct: “its position is right and proper,” and in itself it is sound. 剝, “stripping,” is the top line: at the end of the gua, pressed by two yang lines below, like someone about to be pushed out. In Dàzhuàng line five was line three, the top line’s partner; now promoted, it has become its neighbour, and the top line rides on it and clings. To be leaned on by a declining force is dangerous. Duì can also mean breaking: what pleased from afar may disappoint up close.
One level deeper
Line 5, “trusting what strips away; there is danger”: Line 5 is the ruler, and right beside it sits the top line, the one most skilled at drawing others into pleasure. A ruler who trusts someone whose job is to keep him happy, like a boss who only hears good news, finds his authority quietly eroded, and so there is danger.
If you drew this line
Your position is sound, but watch who is leaning on you; do not let a waning relationship or commitment drag you down. Stay alert.
上六引兌。
In plain words
Joy that draws others in.
Close reading
Just two characters, the shortest line text of all, with no verdict. Yin in a yin place, correct, unanswered by line three, weak, and at the tail end of joy. In Dàzhuàng its partner was line three, which has risen to become line five, as if the top line had drawn it up, and so the Lake was formed. “Not yet broad”: 光 here stands for 廣. Joy obtained by pulling others in leaves only a narrow road. It is not condemned like line three, but it shares the flaw of contrivance.
One level deeper
Top line, “drawing others into joy”: this is the top line of the upper Duì, the line that makes the upper youngest daughter. At the very top with no partner, it can only reach out and pull others into pleasure. The youngest daughter’s charm lies in joy that flows freely; once it becomes deliberate enticement, joy is just a way of leading people along, and the Small Image says it is “not yet bright.”
If you drew this line
If your gladness depends on others leading you or on drawing them in, it will not last; return to your own sincerity and the road will widen.
Stories 典
Governing by the Way of Ease
The Commentary on Duì says that when people are led with joy, they forget their toil. Mencius says something close: “If the people are employed in the way that aims at their ease, they will not complain though they toil; if they are put to death in the way that aims at preserving life, they will not resent the one who kills them though they die.” Work imposed for the people’s eventual ease is borne without grumbling; a judge who searches every statute for a way to spare a life, and condemns only when none remains, is not hated even by the condemned. The key in both is genuine concern for the people. The true secret of leadership is to give people real gladness and respect, not to cow them with force.
Friends Gathered by Culture, Helping Toward Goodness
In the Analects Master Zeng says: “The noble person gathers friends through culture and through friends supports goodness.” It may be the highest principle of friendship. “Culture” here is not a diploma but every humane pursuit beyond profit and pleasure, a shared love of something worthwhile; “supporting goodness” is the purpose, helping one another onto the right path in life. That is what the Great Image means by discussing and practising with friends: joined lakes do not dry up, and friends who talk things through keep finding new meaning. The Record of Learning adds that whoever studies alone, without friends, stays narrow and ill-informed.
Insight 悟
Joy eases life and is the secret of leadership, but it must rest on sincerity and what is right. The six lines draw the distinctions clearly: joy that arises naturally, in harmony or good faith, is fortunate; joy manufactured on purpose is ominous; joy obtained by drawing others in has a narrow road. In human relations, the more we engineer an effect, the more likely it is to backfire. Rather than chase happiness, study and talk things through with good friends; in growing together, joy arrives on its own.