Hexagram 34 of 64
Great Strength
大壯 Dà Zhuàng
Upper trigram: 震 Zhèn, thunder
Lower trigram: 乾 Qián, heaven
The judgment
利貞。
It is fitting to hold firm.
The Great Image
雷在天上，大壯；君子以非禮弗履。
Thunder in the sky above: Great Strength. In the same way, the noble person sets no foot on anything outside right conduct.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初九
壯于趾，征凶，有孚。
Strength in the toes. Setting out brings misfortune. There is trust.
All the strength is in the toes, at the very start. Ask whether you are eager to set out before there is anything to back the step.
Line 2 九二
貞吉。
Holding firm brings good fortune.
The line says only that holding firm brings good fortune. When you feel strong, consider how little you may need to do to keep things on course.
Line 3 九三
小人用壯，君子用罔，貞厲。羝羊觸藩，羸其角。
The petty person uses strength. The noble person makes no use of it. Holding firm brings danger. A ram butts a fence and gets its horns caught.
A ram butts a fence and its horns stick. Ask whether force is your habit here, and consider what the noble person in the line does by leaving it unused.
Line 4 九四
貞吉悔亡，藩決不羸，壯于大轝之腹。
Holding firm brings good fortune; regret goes. The fence breaks open and there is no entanglement. Strength in the belly of a great cart.
The fence has given way and the belly of the great cart is strong. If a barrier opens for you, consider how to move through it steadily and without fresh butting.
Line 5 六五
喪羊于易，无悔。
Losing the sheep in ease. No regret.
The sheep goes missing, and the line says no regret. You may be able to let go of a stubbornness that once served you without feeling it as a loss.
Line 6 上六
羝羊觸藩，不能退，不能遂，无攸利，艱則吉。
A ram butts a fence and can neither go back nor go through. Nothing is favorable. Bear the hardship and there is good fortune.
The ram can neither back up nor push through. If you are stuck after pushing, ask what you have been pretending is easy, and what would change if you admitted the hardship.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is heaven below and thunder above, with four solid lines rising under two broken ones. Thunder rolls high in the sky. It stands for great strength at the moment when it is growing.
The judgment is two characters long: it is fitting to hold firm. When you have power, the test lies in how you use it. Ask what you could do with your strength that would still look right to you later.
If your question is about a promotion or a plan that is going well, tradition reads this as a time for restraint inside strength. The image says to step only where right conduct allows, and the ram in the lines is a caution about getting stuck through pushing.
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/大壯), 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.
Where the sources differ
- In the fourth line, Wikisource (A) reads 大轝之腹 (the belly of a great cart) and Project Gutenberg (B) reads 大輿之輹 (the axle block of a great cart). 轝 and 輿 both mean a cart; 腹 is the belly and 輹 the block joining axle to carriage. Wikisource carries 一作輿 and 一作輹 as inline alternative readings while keeping 轝 and 腹 as its base text.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.