Hexagram 39 · Jiǎn 蹇 Impasse

蹇，利西南，不利東北。利見大人，貞吉。

Jian: the southwest is favorable; the northeast is not. It is favorable to see the great person. Being correct and firm brings good fortune.

Zhu Xi glosses the name as hardship of the feet, walking that cannot go on: danger is seen ahead, and one halts. The southwest stands for level, easy ground, the northeast for rough terrain and the direction of Gen itself; in the middle of difficulty, this is no time to seek out more. Relief comes through the great person, whom he finds in the strong, central fifth line, and good fortune through correctness, reflected in five lines that sit in their proper places. His summary: stopping before danger is wise, but one must not stop for good.

山上有水，蹇。君子以反身修德。

Water on the mountain: Impasse. The noble person looks back into himself and works on his virtue.

The figure puts the danger of water on top of a mountain that stops: a way that is blocked. Zhu Xi adds no note to this sentence. It turns the obstacle inward. When the road ahead is closed, the noble person looks at himself and works on his own character.

Line 1, yin (初六)changing line in the shared reading

往蹇，來譽。

Going on meets hardship. Coming back earns praise.

Zhu Xi's note is short: to go forward is to walk into danger, and to come back is to be praised. The first line (初六) is at the very bottom, farthest from the water ahead, and the sound course is to wait where it is. Holding back can be the very act that others recognize as wise.

Line 2, yin (六二)changing line in the shared reading

王臣蹇蹇，匪躬之故。

The king's servant meets hardship upon hardship, and not for his own sake.

The second line (六二) is yielding, central and correct, and its partner is the fifth line, the ruler, caught in the water above. So the minister meets hardship upon hardship, and none of it is for himself. Zhu Xi points out that the text gives no verdict at all. The one who receives this line is simply to give full effort; whether it succeeds is not what the line is about.

Line 3, yang (九三)changing line in the shared reading

往蹇，來反。

Going on meets hardship. Coming back, it returns to its place.

As the one strong line of the lower trigram, the third line (九三) sits right under the danger. Zhu Xi says that by turning back toward the two yin lines beneath it, it finds the place where it can rest. Coming home here is not a defeat but a return to where it belongs.

Line 4, yin (六四)changing line in the shared reading

往蹇，來連。

Going on meets hardship. Coming back, it joins with others.

Already inside the water trigram, the fourth line (六四) is a yielding line. Zhu Xi reads 'joining' as linking up with the strong third line below, so that the two can combine their strength and get through. What one cannot cross alone, two may cross together.

Line 5, yang (九五)changing line in the shared reading

大蹇，朋來。

Great hardship. Friends come.

The fifth line (九五) is the ruler, sitting in the middle of the water trigram, and Zhu Xi calls its hardship out of the ordinary. Yet it is strong, central and correct, and that kind of character draws allies; friends arrive to help. He ties the help to the virtue: in his reading, whoever has the one finds the other.

Top line, yin (上六)changing line in the shared reading

往蹇，來碩，吉，利見大人。

Going on meets hardship. Coming back brings great achievement. Good fortune. It is favorable to see the great person.

At the top line (上六) there is nowhere left to go, and moving on would only add to the hardship. Zhu Xi has it turn back to the fifth line, which he names as the great person of the text, and help the ruler through the difficulty. That return is what earns the large achievement. The end of the road can be where one finally turns around and helps.