I Ching · Hexagram 34 of 64
Hexagram 34: Da Zhuang （大壮） — Great Power
Da Zhuang is Thunder above Heaven: thunder in the sky, its voice unchecked, the image of strength that moves without obstacle. The hexagram speaks of one whose blessing and capacity are mighty, yet insists that such greatness is true only when it is upright, and that one must not tread what is not in accord with propriety. It warns as well against the rashness of the ram.
At a glance
| Hexagram | 34 of 64 |
|---|---|
| Name | Da Zhuang 大壮 · Great Power |
| Upper trigram | Zhen （震）· Thunder |
| Lower trigram | Qian （乾）· Heaven |
| Structure | Thunder over Heaven |
| Lines | 6 lines |
The Judgment （卦辞）
Great Power. It is favorable to be steadfast.
ExplainedGreat power means great blessing and great ability, and precisely then is steadfastness most needed, for doing good is the practice and integrity is the store laid up. Without virtue even the largest fortune cannot be digested and turns into calamity instead. In a season of strength, do good and gather merit, and at least keep one virtue whole, or one is not fully a person.
Tuan Zhuan — Commentary on the Judgment （彖传）
Great Power: the great is strong. Firm and moving, therefore strong. Great Power, favorable to be steadfast: the great is upright. Being upright and great, the true feeling of heaven and earth becomes visible.
ExplainedStrength here is not the force of one man, but the power of a great person to unite many into a single body, so that an army looks like one being. Firm resolve in action is what makes it strong; yet the great must also be upright and good, for heaven and earth themselves are upright and great. To emulate them in virtue and in vow is to be upheld by them.
Xiang Zhuan — Image Commentary （大象）
Thunder in the sky: Great Power. Thus the noble one does not tread what is not in accord with propriety.
ExplainedThunder in the heavens meets no resistance; yet whoever would enter this strength must measure sight, hearing, speech and action by propriety. Propriety is at heart harmony: to observe, understand and respect others, needlessly offending no one, so that support gathers and one enters genuine strength.
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 · YangLine 1
Strength in the toes: setting out brings misfortune, though there is confidence.
Small ImageStrength in the toes: such confidence comes to an end.
ExplainedStrength only in the toe means impulse before deliberation, charging out on self-belief to conquer others. To set out is to be defeated; the confidence of the rash, however sincere, runs out at the last extremity.
Line 2 · YangLine 2
Steadfastness brings good fortune.
Small ImageNine in the second, steadfast and auspicious: because of centrality.
ExplainedThe one sound road of life is to be upright and unswerving, for heaven blesses the good, while self-made schemes do not last even when they succeed. Yet desire pulls one outward, and so the text adds centrality: keep the middle way, let emotion and craving come to rest, and blessing follows of itself.
Line 3 · YangLine 3
The petty person uses strength; the noble one uses no-strength. Steadfastness, peril. The ram butts the hedge and tangles its horns.
Small ImageThe petty person uses strength; the noble one does not.
ExplainedIn hardship the petty person forces his way, while the noble one works through the formless power of sincerity. The ram that butts a fence and catches its horns is the man whose temper cannot bend; the noble one dissolves the obstacle invisibly, as gathered sincerity breaks through what medicine cannot reach.
Line 4 · YangLine 4
Steadfastness brings good fortune, regret vanishes. The hedge opens and does not entangle; strength lies in the axle of the great wagon.
Small ImageThe hedge opens and does not entangle: one may still go forward.
ExplainedUprightness does more than bring blessing, for it dissolves misfortune as well. Merit gathered by fulfilling one's vows is like a great wagon that crushes the hedge of karmic obstruction without being harmed itself; the noble action of rising upward carries one through every hard pass.
Line 5 · YinLine 5
Losing the ram in ease: no regret.
Small ImageLosing the ram in ease: the position is not fitting.
ExplainedThe ram stands for restlessness, for impulse and temper and craving. Even after inward cultivation the residual habits of the deep mind stir up sudden unease, and one must shed the ram by ease: dwelling nowhere, holding to no fixed method, and letting the stubbornness of high place melt away.
Line 6 · YinLine 6
The ram butts the hedge: it cannot retreat, it cannot advance; nothing is favorable. Hardship endured brings good fortune.
Small ImageIt cannot retreat and cannot advance: this is not understood. Hardship brings good fortune: the fault does not last.
ExplainedHorns caught in the hedge, neither back nor forward, is the common human trap: the work one hates but cannot leave, the marriage that wounds but will not end, the war and the household violence of shared karma. The remedy is endurance, bearing the hardship with patience, for obstruction is never endless.
Key takeaway
Great Power teaches that true strength is upright strength, guarded by propriety and free of rash impulse.
Frequently asked questions
What does Hexagram 34 (Da Zhuang) mean in the I Ching?
Da Zhuang is Thunder above Heaven: thunder in the sky, its voice unchecked, the image of strength that moves without obstacle. The hexagram speaks of one whose blessing and capacity are mighty, yet insists that such greatness is true only when it is upright, and that one must not tread what is not in accord with propriety. It warns as well against the rashness of the ram.
What is the judgment of Hexagram 34?
Great Power. It is favorable to be steadfast. Great power means great blessing and great ability, and precisely then is steadfastness most needed, for doing good is the practice and integrity is the store laid up. Without virtue even the largest fortune cannot be digested and turns into calamity instead. In a season of strength, do good and gather merit, and at…
What do the six lines of Hexagram 34 say?
Line 1: Strength in the toes: setting out brings misfortune, though there is confidence. Line 2: Steadfastness brings good fortune. Line 3: The petty person uses strength; the noble one uses no-strength. Steadfastness, peril. The ram butts the hedge and tangles its horns. Line 4: Steadfastness brings good fortune, regret vanishes. The hedge opens and does not entangle; strength lies in the axle of the great wagon. Line 5: Losing the ram in ease: no regret. Line 6: The ram butts the hedge: it cannot retreat, it cannot advance; nothing is favorable. Hardship endured brings good fortune.
What is the main lesson of Hexagram 34 (Great Power)?
Great Power teaches that true strength is upright strength, guarded by propriety and free of rash impulse.
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