Hexagram 6 of 64
Conflict
訟 Sòng
Upper trigram: 乾 Qián, heaven
Lower trigram: 坎 Kǎn, water
The judgment
有孚窒惕，中吉，終凶。利見大人，不利涉大川。
There is trust that is blocked. Be wary. Halfway, good fortune. At the end, misfortune. It is fitting to see the great person. It is not fitting to cross the great river.
The Great Image
天與水違行，訟；君子以作事謀始。
Heaven and water move in opposite directions: Conflict. In the same way, the noble person, when taking up any affair, plans its beginning.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初六
不永所事，小有言，終吉。
Not prolonging the matter. A little criticism. In the end, good fortune.
The line favors not dragging the matter out. If a quarrel is still small, ask whether you could let it end even if a few people grumble.
Line 2 九二
不克訟，歸而逋，其邑人三百戶无眚。
Unable to win the dispute. He goes home and slips away. The people of his town, three hundred households, suffer no calamity.
Going home from a fight he cannot win spares the three hundred households around the loser. Consider who else may pay if you keep going.
Line 3 六三
食舊德，貞厲，終吉。或從王事，无成。
Feeding on old merit. Holding firm brings danger. In the end, good fortune. If you serve the king's business, there is no achievement.
Living on old merit lasts only as long as the merit does. Ask what you earned earlier, and whether it is still enough to stand on.
Line 4 九四
不克訟，復即命渝，安貞吉。
Unable to win the dispute. Turning back to accept the decree and changing. Calm persistence brings good fortune.
A person who cannot win turns back and changes course here. Ask what it would take for you to accept a decision you argued against.
Line 5 九五
訟，元吉。
Disputing. Supreme good fortune.
The one line that praises a dispute sits in the ruler's place, where a fair hearing happens. Consider who could hear both sides of your disagreement fairly.
Line 6 上九
或錫之鞶帶，終朝三褫之。
Someone may be given a great leather belt. Before the morning is over it is stripped off three times.
A belt of honor is given and taken away three times in one morning. Ask what a victory would be worth to you if you had to keep defending it.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is water below and heaven above. Heaven's movement is upward and water's is downward, so the two go in opposite directions. It is about disputes and how they start.
The judgment says that trust has been blocked, that caution brings good fortune midway, and that pressing to the end brings misfortune. It recommends a great person to judge and warns off large ventures. Ask what you could accept now that would let you stop before the end.
If your question is about a disagreement at work or in the family, tradition reads this as a time to seek a fair third party and to hold off on anything large. A reading cannot decide a legal matter, which belongs with a qualified professional. The lines caution that a win kept by force may not stay won.
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/訟), 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 top line, Wikisource keeps 褫 (to strip off) and notes that it is also written 拕 (to drag away).
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.