Hexagram 29: The Abysmal, Water

Structure of the sign

The hexagram consists of the repetition of the trigram Kan. It is one of the eight doubled signs. The sign Kan signifies falling into an abyss. A yang line has plunged between two yin lines and is enclosed by them like water in a ravine. It represents the middle son. The Receptive has acquired the middle line of the Creative, and thus Kan is produced. As an image it is water—namely the water that comes from above and is in motion upon the earth in rivers and streams, giving rise to all life on earth. Applied to man, it represents the heart, the soul enclosed within the body, the light contained within the darkness, reason. Because the sign is doubled, its name bears the addition: repetition of danger. By this the sign is intended to designate an objective situation to which one must become accustomed, not a subjective disposition. For danger as a subjective disposition signifies either rashness or cunning. Therefore danger is also designated as a ravine, that is, a condition in which one finds oneself like water in a gorge, and from which one emerges as water does, if one acts rightly.

The Judgment

The Abysmal repeated. If you are sincere, you have success in your heart, and whatever you do succeeds. Through the repetition of danger one grows accustomed to it. Water provides the example for right conduct in such conditions. It flows on and on, merely filling up all the places through which it passes; it shrinks back from no dangerous place, from no plunge, and through nothing does it lose its own essential nature. In all circumstances it remains true to itself. Thus sincerity in difficult circumstances brings it about that inwardly in one's heart one penetrates the situation. And once one has inwardly mastered a situation, it will come about quite naturally that outer actions are attended by success. In danger, what matters is thoroughness, which genuinely accomplishes everything that must be done, and pressing forward so that one does not perish by lingering in the peril. Actively employed, danger can possess an important significance as a protective measure. Thus heaven has its perilous height, which defends it against any attempt at intrusion. Thus the earth has its mountains and waters, which through their hazards divide the lands. In the same way, rulers employ danger as a protective measure to defend themselves outwardly against attacks and inwardly against disorders.

The Image

Water flows on uninterruptedly and reaches its goal: the image of the Abysmal repeated. Thus the superior man walks in lasting virtue and carries on the business of teaching. Water reaches its goal through uninterrupted flowing. It fills every depression before flowing on. In the same way the superior man acts. He attaches importance to ensuring that goodness becomes a permanent trait of character, rather than remaining accidental and isolated. In the instruction of others, too, everything depends on consistency. For only through repetition does the material become the possession of the learner.

The lines