Hexagram 15 of 64
Modesty
謙 Qiān
Upper trigram: 坤 Kūn, earth
Lower trigram: 艮 Gèn, mountain
The judgment
亨，君子有終。
Success. The noble person sees it through to the end.
The Great Image
地中有山，謙；君子以裒多益寡，稱物平施。
Within the earth there is a mountain: Modesty. In the same way, the noble person takes from what is much and adds to what is little, weighs things and distributes evenly.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初六
謙謙君子，用涉大川，吉。
Modest and again modest, the noble person. With this, crossing the great river. Good fortune.
Modest twice over, the line says, and the river gets crossed. Ask what large task you could approach without claiming it first.
Line 2 六二
鳴謙，貞吉。
Modesty that is voiced. Holding firm brings good fortune.
Modesty has begun to be heard here. Consider whether your reputation for humility is still matched by what you do.
Line 3 九三
勞謙君子，有終吉。
Toiling and modest, the noble person comes to an end with good fortune.
Hard work and modesty go together in this one firm line. Ask whether you could keep working hard and let someone else announce the result.
Line 4 六四
无不利，撝謙。
Nothing is unfavorable. Modesty put into motion.
The line waves modesty around, spreading it through every gesture. Consider how you could show consideration in small everyday acts.
Line 5 六五
不富，以其鄰，利用侵伐，无不利。
Not rich, along with the neighbors. It is fitting to use invasion and attack. Nothing is unfavorable.
The old text permits attack here, in a line about having no riches. Ask what firm stand you may need to take alongside your neighbors, short of harm to anyone.
Line 6 上六
鳴謙，利用行師，征邑國。
Modesty that is voiced. It is fitting to use marching troops and to campaign against towns and states.
Voiced modesty turns into armed force at the last line, which is a strange ending. If your humility has been taken for weakness, consider a clear and peaceful way of setting a limit.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is a mountain below and earth above. A high mountain sits under the level ground, and what is large keeps itself low. It is about modesty as a working practice.
The judgment is short: success, and the noble person sees it through to the end. In the image, excess is taken from the high and added to the low. Ask where you could even things out.
If your question is about recognition at work or a long collaboration, tradition reads this as a time to do the job and claim little. No line here is marked unfavorable, and the last two show that modesty may still need to act firmly.
A hexagram is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
Where this text comes from
The Chinese follows the Wikisource text of the Zhou Yi (its page for this hexagram, 周易/謙), compared with the Project Gutenberg edition. The Great Image comes from the Wikisource page 周易/大象.
- Wikisource, 周易
Retrieved 2026-11-08
- Project Gutenberg eBook 25501, 易經
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Read this hexagram with its traditional commentaries in our library.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.