Hexagram 48 of 64
The Well
井 Jǐng
Upper trigram: 坎 Kǎn, water
Lower trigram: 巽 Xùn, wind
The judgment
改邑不改井，无喪无得，往來井井。汔至，亦未繘井，羸其瓶，凶。
Towns are moved; the well stays where it is. No loss and no gain. Going and coming, the well stays a well. Almost there, and the rope has not yet reached down the well. The jar is broken. Misfortune.
The Great Image
木上有水，井；君子以勞民勸相。
Above the wood there is water: The Well. In the same way, the noble person heartens the people at their toil and presses them to lend each other a hand.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初六
井泥不食，舊井无禽。
The well is muddy and no one drinks. At the old well there are no birds.
Mud at the bottom and no birds left at the old site. Ask whether a resource you rely on has gone unused for so long that even the birds have stopped coming.
Line 2 九二
井谷射鮒，瓮敝漏。
Small fish are shot at the well's hollow. The jar is worn and leaking.
Someone shoots at tiny fish in the well while the jar leaks. Consider whether small distractions have pulled your effort away from the jar that needs repair.
Line 3 九三
井渫不食，為我心惻，可用汲，王明，並受其福。
The well is dredged clean and goes undrunk. This makes my heart ache. It can be used for drawing water. If the king is clear-sighted, all receive the blessing.
The well is dredged clean and no one draws from it. If your ability is ready and unused, consider who could be asked to notice, and what is lost to others while it sits.
Line 4 六四
井甃，无咎。
Bricks are laid around the well shaft. No blame.
Lining a well with brick keeps it from collapsing and gives no water during the work. Ask what repair you could make now that could serve later.
Line 5 九五
井冽，寒泉食。
The well is clear. The cold spring is drunk from.
Clear cold spring water is the best a well can give. Ask what in your work is already good enough to be shared freely.
Line 6 上六
井收勿幕，有孚元吉。
Drawing from the well, do not cover it. There is trust. Supreme good fortune.
The well stays open and the rope comes up. Consider what you could leave uncovered for anyone who needs it.
What this hexagram says
Wind below, water above. The lower trigram also stands for wood, the wooden bucket or shaft that brings water up. It stands for a shared source of nourishment that a community depends on.
The judgment says that towns move while the well stays, neither losing nor gaining, and then warns of a rope that stops short and a broken jar. The source is steady and the last bit of effort can still fail. Ask where a task is almost done and what could be dropped at the final moment.
If your question is about a shared institution, a skill you have trained for or a workplace that needs upkeep, tradition reads this as a time to maintain what others draw on. The lines move from a muddy well through cleaning and lining to clear water. Consider which stage your own well has reached.
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/井), 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 third line, Wikisource (A) reads 為我心惻 (this makes my heart ache) and Project Gutenberg (B) reads 為我民惻 (this makes my people grieve).
- In the top line, Wikisource (A) reads 有孚元吉 (there is trust, supreme good fortune) and Project Gutenberg (B) reads 有孚無吉 (there is trust, no good fortune).
- In the second line, Wikisource (A) writes 瓮 and Project Gutenberg (B) writes 甕. These are variant forms of the same word, a jar.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.