HEXAGRAM 47 · kùn

Oppression

Oppression and inner center: what remains when resources, speech, and movement narrow

泽水困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

困：亨，贞大人吉，无咎，有言不信。

Close rendering

Oppression: success. Constancy. For the great person, good fortune and no blame. Words are not believed.

《大象》 · Image

泽无水，困；君子以致命遂志。

Close rendering

Lake without Water: Oppression. The noble person therefore gives life itself to fulfill the will.

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 has lost its water while danger remains below. Kun depicts a state of external depletion and internal pressure.

Cultural reading of the judgment

Constriction reveals what has not been taken away. When expression, resources, and options shrink, the remaining center of integrity becomes easier to see.

SIX LINES · ONE STORY

How the hexagram develops from bottom to top

Line 1 · 初六

Classical Chinese

臀困于株木，入于幽谷，三岁不觌。

Close rendering

The buttocks are oppressed against a tree stump; one enters a dark valley and for three years sees no one.

Cultural reading

At the beginning of confinement, darkness and isolation easily reinforce one another; losing basic supports deepens the low point.

Line 2 · 九二

Classical Chinese

困于酒食，朱绂方来，利用亨祀，征凶，无咎。

Close rendering

Oppressed amid food and drink. The person in scarlet knee-bands is coming. Favorable to make sacrifice. Going forth brings misfortune, yet no blame.

Cultural reading

Surface comfort does not guarantee freedom. Inner order before help arrives can determine whether the restriction expands.

Line 3 · 六三

Classical Chinese

困于石，据于蒺藜，入于其宫，不见其妻，凶。

Close rendering

Oppressed by stone and leaning on thorns; one enters the house and does not see the spouse. Misfortune.

Cultural reading

When obstacles press from both sides, preserving the same position by force can consume the household and inner support as well.

Line 4 · 九四

Classical Chinese

来徐徐，困于金车，吝，有终。

Close rendering

Coming slowly, oppressed by a metal carriage. Regret, but there is an end.

Cultural reading

External dependence can make progress painfully slow, but slow movement is still different from having no route.

Line 5 · 九五

Classical Chinese

劓刖，困于赤绂，乃徐有说，利用祭祀。

Close rendering

Nose and feet are cut; oppressed by scarlet knee-bands. Gradually there is release. Favorable to make sacrifice.

Cultural reading

Release often begins with restored order, boundaries, and dignity before the larger restriction visibly ends.

Line 6 · 上六

Classical Chinese

困于葛藟，于臲卼，曰动悔。有悔，征吉。

Close rendering

Oppressed by creeping vines and unstable footing. One says, “Moving brings regret.” Having regret, going forward brings good fortune.

Cultural reading

At the end, the mind easily imagines every option as regret. Admitting that one is constrained can become the first genuine movement.

BRING IT BACK TO LIFE

What this can help you notice

Useful when options narrow and the central task is to preserve inner order until genuine room for movement reappears.

A common misreading

Oppression is not an instruction to endure forever. It clarifies what remains usable when options have narrowed.

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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