I Ching · Hexagram 51 of 64
Hexagram 51: Zhen （震） — The Arousing Thunder
Thunder above and below: shock, alarm, awakening. The sequence follows the Cauldron - the vessel of state is made, but who shall hold it? Thunder is the eldest son, the heir, and the vessel is best kept by the eldest. The hexagram speaks of meeting events with reverent fear: one who can remain unmoved while the thunder crashes about him is fit to direct the affairs of the state and become its master.
At a glance
| Hexagram | 51 of 64 |
|---|---|
| Name | Zhen 震 · The Arousing Thunder |
| Upper trigram | Zhen （震）· Thunder |
| Lower trigram | Zhen （震）· Thunder |
| Structure | Thunder over Thunder |
| Lines | 6 lines |
The Judgment （卦辞）
Shock brings success. Shock comes with terror and trembling, then laughter and talk. It startles for a hundred miles, yet he does not drop the sacrificial spoon and cup.
ExplainedThere is a way of success in shock: whoever meets events with reverent fear accomplishes his work, and so succeeds. Terror and trembling, then laughter and ease - the one who trembles as before Heaven's thunder is the one who afterwards talks and laughs at ease. The eldest son offered the sacrifice in the storm without dropping the spoon or the sacred wine, and that is the steadiness a leader must have, anxious in ordinary times so as to be serene when the great matter comes.
Tuan Zhuan — Commentary on the Judgment （彖传）
Shock brings success. Shock comes with terror and trembling: fear brings blessing. Laughter and talk: afterwards there is a rule. It startles for a hundred miles: it frightens what is far and alarms what is near. He may go forth and guard the ancestral temple and the altars of the land, and be master of the sacrifice.
ExplainedFear brings blessing, for fear makes one examine and correct oneself, so that the heart is not let loose; gathering back the wandering heart, one knows Heaven and realizes one's nature. Through fear one comes at last to laughter and ease, because one has grasped the law of Heaven and no longer moves blindly. The thunder startles far away and alarms near at hand: every word and deed carries far, so present fear guards against future harm. Whoever keeps this mind may in life be a lord of the ancestral temple and after death a spirit of the land, bearing both the civil and the spiritual charge.
Xiang Zhuan — Image Commentary （大象）
Repeated thunder: Shock. The gentleman fears and examines himself.
ExplainedRepeated thunder leaves no one at ease. The gentleman keeps before him the thought that Heaven watches like lightning, that as a man acts Heaven sees, and so dares not be arrogant. Only fear makes self-examination possible, and self-examination - not the number of books read or hours sat - is the root of great attainment.
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
Shock comes with terror and trembling; afterwards laughter and talk.
Small ImageShock comes with terror and trembling: fear brings blessing. Laughter and talk: afterwards there is a rule.
ExplainedThe first line is the ruler of the hexagram: from the very beginning of life one should know fear. To be brave enough not to dare is to live; to fear Heaven's thunder is to turn from evil to good, and afterwards a wordless joy arises that cannot be spoken. This is the one wholly fortunate line of the hexagram.
Line 2 · YinLine 2
Shock comes with danger. He loses his treasures by the hundred thousand. He climbs the nine hills. Do not pursue. In seven days you will find them.
Small ImageShock comes with danger: he rides upon the firm.
ExplainedWhoever is too hard and knows no fear is struck down, losing in thought after thought all that he loves - wealth, health, love, home, life. The remedy is to climb the nine hills, that is, to turn the light around and rest in the mountain of the spirit. In seven days, one full cycle of Heaven, the original nature is recovered; let go of the knife and stop chasing, and much is gained.
Line 3 · YinLine 3
Shock comes with limpness. If shock moves him to action, no harm.
Small ImageShock comes with limpness: his position is not right.
ExplainedWhoever cannot climb the nine hills and sinks into the mind that cannot bear loss becomes limp as if shocked, unable to walk his road. He has placed himself wrongly. The remedy is to keep walking: the limper one feels, the more one must go on, and then the light returns. Those who suffer have no right to despair.
Line 4 · YangLine 4
Shock sinks into the mud.
Small ImageShock sinks into the mud: he is not yet light.
ExplainedSunk in the swamp, deeper with every step, held by emotion or by fate in drink, gambling or drugs - such a life has lost its light. This follows from not having walked on in the third line; one must turn the thought away early, before all is swallowed.
Line 5 · YinLine 5
Shock goes and comes with danger. He loses nothing. He has affairs.
Small ImageShock goes and comes with danger: he walks in danger. His affairs are in the middle: he loses nothing great.
ExplainedBeyond the one sunk in mud is the one whose thought, speech and action repeat compulsively, walking always in crisis, held by gain and loss. The remedy is to remember, I have lost nothing. Gain and loss are one; the old man's horse returned. Seen from the middle, neither gain nor loss can touch him.
Line 6 · YinLine 6
Shock brings dismay, the eyes stare wildly. To set forth brings misfortune. If the shock does not fall on himself but on his neighbor, no blame. Marriage brings talk.
Small ImageShock brings dismay: the middle is not attained. Though misfortune threatens, no blame: he is warned by his neighbor.
ExplainedThe spirit wasted, the eyes starting, easily frightened: this is the road to failure, and at worst to madness. The middle is not attained because the heart is in disorder and the nature lost. The remedy is to let the shock fall on the neighbor rather than on oneself - one good thought that turns outward to care for another. Marriage is not advisable while the yin is so heavy; yet even here one may be saved by taking warning from another's fate.
Key takeaway
Thunder is shock and awe: whoever can stay unmoved while the thunder rolls is fit to direct the affairs of the state and become its master.
Frequently asked questions
What does Hexagram 51 (Zhen) mean in the I Ching?
Thunder above and below: shock, alarm, awakening. The sequence follows the Cauldron - the vessel of state is made, but who shall hold it? Thunder is the eldest son, the heir, and the vessel is best kept by the eldest. The hexagram speaks of meeting events with reverent fear: one who can remain unmoved while the thunder crashes about him is fit to direct the affairs of the state and become its master.
What is the judgment of Hexagram 51?
Shock brings success. Shock comes with terror and trembling, then laughter and talk. It startles for a hundred miles, yet he does not drop the sacrificial spoon and cup. There is a way of success in shock: whoever meets events with reverent fear accomplishes his work, and so succeeds. Terror and trembling, then laughter and ease - the one who trembles as before Heaven's thunder is the one who afterwards talks and laughs at ease. The eldest son offered the sacrifice in the storm…
What do the six lines of Hexagram 51 say?
Line 1: Shock comes with terror and trembling; afterwards laughter and talk. Line 2: Shock comes with danger. He loses his treasures by the hundred thousand. He climbs the nine hills. Do not pursue. In seven days you will find them. Line 3: Shock comes with limpness. If shock moves him to action, no harm. Line 4: Shock sinks into the mud. Line 5: Shock goes and comes with danger. He loses nothing. He has affairs. Line 6: Shock brings dismay, the eyes stare wildly. To set forth brings misfortune. If the shock does not fall on himself but on his neighbor, no blame. Marriage brings talk.
What is the main lesson of Hexagram 51 (The Arousing Thunder)?
Thunder is shock and awe: whoever can stay unmoved while the thunder rolls is fit to direct the affairs of the state and become its master.
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