HEXAGRAM 43 · guài

Break-through

Break-through at the threshold: making a problem public without turning decision into rage

泽天夬Classical Chinese included

Translation approach

The Chinese source stays visible. Where an editorial close rendering is available, it stays near the wording before Astro I Ching expands into cultural interpretation. Why we separate these layers →

CLASSICAL CHINESE

The source anchor

Read the source first. The English layer below remains accountable to these passages rather than replacing them with a simplified verdict.

卦辞 · Judgment

夬：扬于王庭，孚号，有厉，告自邑，不利即戎，利有攸往。

Close rendering

Breakthrough: announce it openly at the royal court. Call out with trust; there is danger. Make the warning known from one’s own city. Not favorable to resort to arms. Favorable to have somewhere to go.

《大象》 · Image

泽上于天，夬；君子以施禄及下，居德则忌。

Close rendering

Lake rises above Heaven: Breakthrough. The noble person therefore distributes benefit downward and avoids dwelling possessively on virtue.

How to read the middle layer

Close rendering stays near wording and sequence. It is not presented as the only possible translation; the cultural reading below is where Astro I Ching explains image, structure, and practical logic in fuller English.

ASTRO I CHING · CULTURAL READING

Why this hexagram says what it says

Cultural reading of the image

Lake rises to Heaven and approaches overflow. Guai belongs to a point where an issue can no longer remain private or indefinitely postponed.

Cultural reading of the judgment

Decision is not the same as violence. The hexagram asks how a problem is stated openly, how agreement forms, and how firmness avoids becoming uncontrolled anger.

SIX LINES · ONE STORY

How the hexagram develops from bottom to top

Line 1 · 初九

Classical Chinese

壮于前趾，往不胜为咎。

Close rendering

Strength in the forward toes. Going without being equal to the task brings blame.

Cultural reading

Rushing into decisive action before capacity is ready can turn courage itself into error.

Line 2 · 九二

Classical Chinese

惕号，莫夜有戎，勿恤。

Close rendering

Alertly call out. Even if there are armed threats at night, do not worry.

Cultural reading

Early alertness and clear warning reduce the shock of sudden danger.

Line 3 · 九三

Classical Chinese

壮于頄，有凶。君子夬夬，独行遇雨，若濡有愠，无咎。

Close rendering

Strength in the cheekbones brings misfortune. The noble person decides resolutely, walks alone, meets rain, is drenched and resented—yet no blame.

Cultural reading

Holding to principle matters more than protecting face; temporary misunderstanding does not require theatrical force.

Line 4 · 九四

Classical Chinese

臀无肤，其行次且。牵羊悔亡，闻言不信。

Close rendering

The buttocks are without skin, and walking is hesitant. If led like a sheep, regret disappears. One hears advice but does not believe it.

Cultural reading

The hardest moment to decide is often the moment one least wants advice; accepting guidance can reopen the route.

Line 5 · 九五

Classical Chinese

苋陆夬夬，中行无咎。

Close rendering

Resolutely cut through like removing amaranth weeds. Walking the middle path brings no blame.

Cultural reading

Firm removal of a problem still needs a center. Total softness and total severity can both lose proportion.

Line 6 · 上六

Classical Chinese

无号，终有凶。

Close rendering

No call is made. In the end there is misfortune.

Cultural reading

When a problem is delayed until no language or negotiation remains, the ending is more likely to become abrupt and severe.

BRING IT BACK TO LIFE

What this can help you notice

Useful when an issue can no longer remain implicit and a clear public decision has to be made without letting anger become the decision-maker.

A common misreading

Break-through is not the same as attacking. Clarity, publicity, and proportion come before force.

Keep the classical text and the interpretive layer separate: one is the source, the other is Astro I Ching's explanation of how the source can be read.

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