I Ching · Hexagram 31 of 64
Hexagram 31: Xian （咸） — Influence
Xian is Lake over Mountain: the lake as the young woman, the mountain as the young man, each moving the other. To influence is to feel and to affect, and the hexagram concerns the feeling between man and woman and the harmony of marriage, extended to the accord between all people. It teaches that only by emptying oneself to receive others and building a ground of affection can one succeed, be steadfast and take a wife in good fortune.
At a glance
| Hexagram | 31 of 64 |
|---|---|
| Name | Xian 咸 · Influence |
| Upper trigram | Dui （兑）· Lake |
| Lower trigram | Gen （艮）· Mountain |
| Structure | Lake over Mountain |
| Lines | 6 lines |
The Judgment （卦辞）
Influence. Success. It is favorable to be steadfast. To take a wife brings good fortune.
ExplainedTo influence is to feel and to be in accord. When husband and wife are as two lutes played together, the harmony reaches the family and from the family to all people. The harmony of marriage is the hardest and the most important of things, and to live together day by day in deep and steady affection is the first step of the great harmony with all things, from which success, benefit and steadfastness follow. Heaven and earth united give birth to all things, while a house divided cracks the sky and leaves the children without ability or virtue. When the bond is established, to take a wife brings good fortune, for she helps both husband and house.
Tuan Zhuan — Commentary on the Judgment （彖传）
Influence means to feel. The yielding is above and the firm below; the two energies feel each other and join. To rest and to gladden; the man below the woman: therefore success, favorable to be steadfast, and to take a wife brings good fortune. Heaven and earth feel each other and all things are born; the holy one feels the hearts of men and the world is at peace. Looking at what they feel, the nature of Heaven, earth and all things can be seen.
ExplainedTo influence is to move the hearts of others, and only when feeling is established as a foundation can anything be built. The yielding above and the firm below means that the girl is raised and the youth lowered, so that the yang rises and the yin descends and the two energies join and help each other. To rest and to gladden gives the man quiet as a mountain and the woman persuasive warmth, a good pairing, and to place the man below the woman, strength beneath gentleness, accords with nature and denies the tyranny of the male. Extending this, when Heaven and earth feel one another all things are born, and when the holy one meets hearts with hearts and transforms men by virtue the world is at peace, for it is because hearts differ that they must be moved.
Xiang Zhuan — Image Commentary （大象）
The lake above the mountain: Influence. Thus the noble one receives others with emptiness.
ExplainedA lake upon a mountain, as a great water refreshes a famous peak, hills green and water clear, each bringing out the best in the other, shows mutual influence. The noble one takes this as his rule and receives others with emptiness, laying aside his own preconceptions and conditions so that he can truly accept and contain them. Nothing is harder for people than to accept others, and walls are built even between husband and wife; only emptiness can build affection, as a full cup can hold no tea, and only the empty one can receive teaching and receive others.
The Six Lines （六爻）
The lines are read from the bottom upward. Each carries its own text, a Small Image commentary, and a plain-English reading.
Line 1 · YinLine 1
He influences his big toe.
Small ImageHe influences his big toe: his will is without.
ExplainedTo influence the big toe is to find the other's strength and raise a thumb to praise it, hiding the fault and making much of the good so that he turns toward what is good. To see only another's faults is to start nowhere; the will must be turned outward toward the other person, caring for him rather than for oneself, and then his merits can be seen and praised. Everyone loves the one who understands him, and once received as a friend one has entered his heart.
Line 2 · YinLine 2
He influences his calf. Misfortune. To abide brings good fortune.
Small ImageThough misfortune, to abide brings good fortune: compliance does not harm.
ExplainedThe calf of the leg means movement: to influence the calf is to move the feet before the head is clear, warmth overflowing, telling deep things to a new acquaintance and crossing bounds, which brings misfortune. Yet the fault is not a bad nature, and if one abides, calm and contained, there is good fortune, for warmth must follow the current of the relationship and to force it damages it. Know when a word will be welcome and a deed will sit well, and let the time ripen like water finding its channel.
Line 3 · YangLine 3
He influences his thighs. He holds fast to following. Going brings regret.
Small ImageHe influences his thighs: he also does not abide. His will is to follow others, and what he holds is low.
ExplainedThe thighs stand for following on the heels of others, a man with no judgment of his own who follows whatever way the crowd walks, and so his road narrows. Between husband and wife, or between friends, blind following belongs here: the will seeks someone to lean on and to shift responsibility onto, and what it holds is low. One should follow the principle rather than the person, for to follow a crooked man is to be made crooked with him.
Line 4 · YangLine 4
Perseverance brings good fortune, regret vanishes. Hurrying to and fro, friends follow your thought.
Small ImagePerseverance brings good fortune and regret vanishes: he is not felt as harmful. Hurrying to and fro: he is not yet great and bright.
ExplainedThis is a fair line: a man who is upright and carries blessing and merit draws people to him without regret, so that friends come and go and follow his thought. That he is not felt as harmful means all who come near him receive only good and no injury, and so the traffic continues. Yet that he is not yet great and bright is a warning, for to value the piling up of knowledge and the holding of classes while neglecting the cleansing of the heart cannot make the Way shine; the Master adds in the Great Treatise that the world has nothing to think and nothing to plan, for many roads come to one end, and that end is the purity of the heart.
Line 5 · YangLine 5
He influences his back. No regret.
Small ImageHe influences his back: his will is on the end.
ExplainedThe flesh of the back is turned away: one gives love while the other turns his back on it and takes no notice, yet there is no regret, for one does not give up because of coldness but gives others chance after chance until the door of the heart opens. His will is not on the present refusal but on the end, when success will come at last. Heaven, seeing such sincerity, lends a hand, and the one who is mocked again and again and still does not give up finds a single opening and founds a whole garden.
Line 6 · YinLine 6
He influences his jaw, cheeks and tongue.
Small ImageHe influences his jaw, cheeks and tongue: he talks with his mouth.
ExplainedThe jaw, cheeks and tongue are the mouth alone: to influence by them is to rely on a flow of words, sweet promises and empty talk without true feeling or real giving, speaking with the mouth and nothing more. Such are the people who make every promise before the wedding and keep none after it. The warning is against the word without the deed and the pleasure of talking without substance, and one should ask honestly whether one is only a talker.
Key takeaway
Influence builds the ground of affection by emptying the self, and from the harmony of marriage extends to peace with all people.
Frequently asked questions
What does Hexagram 31 (Xian) mean in the I Ching?
Xian is Lake over Mountain: the lake as the young woman, the mountain as the young man, each moving the other. To influence is to feel and to affect, and the hexagram concerns the feeling between man and woman and the harmony of marriage, extended to the accord between all people. It teaches that only by emptying oneself to receive others and building a ground of affection can one succeed, be steadfast and take a wife in good fortune.
What is the judgment of Hexagram 31?
Influence. Success. It is favorable to be steadfast. To take a wife brings good fortune. To influence is to feel and to be in accord. When husband and wife are as two lutes played together, the harmony reaches the family and from the family to all people. The harmony of marriage is the hardest and the most important of things, and to live together day by day in deep and steady affection is the first step…
What do the six lines of Hexagram 31 say?
Line 1: He influences his big toe. Line 2: He influences his calf. Misfortune. To abide brings good fortune. Line 3: He influences his thighs. He holds fast to following. Going brings regret. Line 4: Perseverance brings good fortune, regret vanishes. Hurrying to and fro, friends follow your thought. Line 5: He influences his back. No regret. Line 6: He influences his jaw, cheeks and tongue.
What is the main lesson of Hexagram 31 (Influence)?
Influence builds the ground of affection by emptying the self, and from the harmony of marriage extends to peace with all people.
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