Hexagram 43 · Guài 夬 Resolute Decision

夬，揚于王庭，孚號有厲。告自邑，不利即戎，利有攸往。

Guai: it is made known in the king's court. A sincere call goes out; there is danger. Begin by informing one's own city. It is not favorable to resort to arms. It is favorable to have somewhere to go.

Zhu Xi glosses the name as cutting away: five yang lines removing the one yin line left at the top, a picture he ties to the third month. The task looks easy, yet he reads every phrase as a warning. The wrong must be named openly at court. The call to others must be sincere, so that all join forces. The danger is real and leaves no room for complacency. One's own affairs come first, and force of arms is not the way. Only on those terms is going forward favorable.

澤上於天，夬。君子以施祿及下，居德則忌。

The lake rises above heaven: Resolute Decision. The noble person spreads rewards down to those below; to rest on one's virtue is to be avoided.

A lake lifted above the sky is bound to break and spill, and Zhu Xi sees in it the force of a bursting flood. Spreading rewards to those below is that same overflow put to good use. The last clause, about resting on one's virtue, he marks as unclear, so the translation keeps it literal.

Line 1, yang (初九)changing line in the shared reading

壯于前趾，往不勝為咎。

Vigor in the advancing toes. Going forth, it does not prevail, and that is a fault.

Like the first line of Hexagram 34, Da Zhuang, this one puts its strength in its toes. Zhu Xi reads 'front' as advancing: the first line (初九), at the very bottom, relies on sheer vigor in a time of decisive action. Failing to prevail from so low a place is only to be expected, and setting out in that state is itself the fault.

Line 2, yang (九二)changing line in the shared reading

惕號，莫夜有戎，勿恤。

Alarmed, it cries out. Armed men in the dark of night: do not worry.

The second line (九二) is strong but sits in a soft place, and it holds the middle. Zhu Xi reads the cry as self-warning: staying alert and calling out keeps it prepared. Because of that, even an attack in the dead of night gives no cause for worry. Readiness built in calm hours is what keeps the night from being frightening.

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

壯于頄，有凶。君子夬夬，獨行遇雨，若濡有慍，无咎。

Vigor in the cheekbones: misfortune. The noble person is resolute in his resolve. Walking alone, he meets the rain, looks soaked, and is resented. No blame.

Past the middle and too hard, the third line (九三) shows its resolve on its face, a path to misfortune. Alone among the yang lines, it is paired with the yin at the top. If it stays decisive and free of private attachment, it may look compromised, like a man caught alone in the rain and resented by his own side, yet it finally removes the problem without blame. Zhu Xi cites Wen Qiao and Wang Dun as a similar case.

Line 4, yang (九四)changing line in the shared reading

臀无膚，其行次且。牽羊悔亡，聞言不信。

The rump has no skin; walking is halting. Lead it like a sheep, and regret vanishes. Hearing these words, it does not believe them.

Out of place and off center, the fourth line (九四) can neither rest where it is nor make headway. Zhu Xi finds the remedy in the sheep: walk in front of one and it balks, but let it go ahead and follow behind, and it moves. Letting the other strong lines go first would end regret. In a season of pushing forward, though, the line will not listen. Whoever does take the advice, he adds, turns misfortune into good fortune.

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

莧陸夬夬，中行无咎。

Purslane, cut away resolutely. Walking the middle course: no blame.

Zhu Xi identifies 莧陸 as purslane, a plant he describes as steeped in yin. The fifth line (九五) leads the decision, yet it stands right beside the yin line at the top, as close to yin as that plant. So it must cut decisively, but without excessive violence. Keeping to the middle course is what leaves it without blame.

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

无號，終有凶。

No one to cry out to. In the end, misfortune.

The top line (上六) is the lone yin, a petty person at the end of its time, with all its allies gone. There is no one left to call to, Zhu Xi says, so misfortune comes in the end. He adds a twist for whoever receives the line: with the noble person's virtue, the misfortune falls on the opposing side; without it, the reverse.