Hexagram 43 of 64
Breakthrough
夬 Guài
Upper trigram: 兌 Duì, lake
Lower trigram: 乾 Qián, heaven
The judgment
揚于王庭，孚號，有厲，告自邑，不利即戎，利有攸往。
Proclaimed in the king's courtyard. A cry with trust: there is danger. Report from the town. It is not fitting to take up arms. It is fitting to have somewhere to go.
The Great Image
澤上於天，夬；君子以施祿及下，居德則忌。
The lake has climbed above heaven: Breakthrough. In the same way, the noble person extends stipends down to those below. To sit on one's merits is a thing to avoid.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初九
壯于前趾，往不勝為咎。
Strength in the front toes. Going without prevailing is blame.
Strength that sits in the front toes is all about the first step. Ask whether you have the power to finish before you take it.
Line 2 九二
惕號，莫夜有戎，勿恤。
Alarm and a cry. At dusk and in the night there are armed men. Do not worry.
Someone is alarmed and calls out, and armed men come at night, yet the line says not to worry. Consider what preparation would let you sleep when a threat is possible.
Line 3 九三
壯于頄，有凶。君子夬夬，獨行遇雨，若濡有慍，无咎。
Strength in the cheekbones: there is misfortune. The noble person, firm and resolute, walks alone and meets rain. If soaked, there is resentment. No blame.
Strength showing in the face is a bad sign, and the resolute person walks alone in the rain. If you have to part from your group in order to do right, ask whether you can bear being misunderstood for a while.
Line 4 九四
臀无膚，其行次且。牽羊悔亡，聞言不信。
The buttocks have no skin. The walking is halting. Leading a sheep, regret goes. Hearing words, he does not believe them.
The sore seat and halting step show someone who can neither sit nor move, and who will not listen when told how to get out of it. Ask what advice you have heard and dismissed.
Line 5 九五
莧陸夬夬，中行无咎。
The purslane is cut, firm and resolute. Walking the middle way, no blame.
Purslane is a weed that keeps coming back after it is cut. If something small and persistent keeps returning, consider a firm and even-handed way of dealing with it.
Line 6 上六
无號，終有凶。
No cry goes up. In the end there is misfortune.
Here no cry goes up. Consider who could warn you, and whether you have made it possible for them to speak.
What this hexagram says
Heaven below, lake above: water has risen over the sky and has to break. Five solid lines push up against one broken line at the top. It stands for a decisive break, usually a stand against something that has stayed too long.
The judgment says to bring the matter out in the open at the king's court, warn people from your own town and avoid taking up arms. Resolve and publicity do the work that force would do. Ask how you could state a problem plainly without turning it into a fight.
If your question is about calling out a problem at work or ending a bad arrangement, tradition reads this as a time for clear speech and careful timing. The lines warn against charging ahead too early and against showing your anger on your face. The image also asks you to share what you have with those below you.
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/夬), 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 first line, Wikisource (A) reads 為咎 (is blame) and Project Gutenberg (B) reads 為吝 (is shame).
- In the Great Image, Wikisource (A) has 澤上於天 on its 周易/大象 page, used as the base here, and 澤上于天 on its page for this hexagram. Project Gutenberg (B) reads 澤上于天. 於 and 于 are variant forms of the same word.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.