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Hexagram 45: Cui (萃) — Gathering Together
Hexagram 45, Cui (萃) — Gathering Together, joins the Lake trigram above the Earth trigram; the old commentators read these six lines as an image of assembly and congregation.
Meaning
Cui is the hexagram of the crowd. Water gathers and pools upon the earth, and the old readers saw a great assembly — people, resources, and intentions all coming together in one place. The judgment pictures the king approaching his temple and seeking out the great man, because a gathering, in the classical view, needs a center around which to form. Left to itself, a crowd scatters.
Turned toward commerce and shared enterprise, the figure describes the founding of an undertaking — the moment when capital, labour, and purpose are collected under one roof. The lines are frank about the difficulty: gathering amid sighs, gathering that falls short of sincerity. The teaching is that assembly is only as strong as the shared purpose that holds it, and that a leader must be present and credible or the gathering dissolves.
For family, friends, and community, Cui was read as the drawing together of people — and as the obligation that comes with it. The second line says that being drawn in brings good fortune and remains blameless, but the fifth adds a harder note: those not yet sincere in the common work require sublime and enduring perseverance. The ancients saw community as something that has to be continually re-earned.
Within the flow of events, Cui marks a phase of convergence. Things that have been separate now come together, and the strength of the moment is collective rather than individual. The image of the lake standing over the earth is the book's picture of abundance pooling in one place — a season for gathering people and resources before they disperse again.
The Judgment
“Gathering Together. Success. The king approaches his temple. It furthers one to see the great man.”
The Six Lines of Gathering Together
Line 1If you are sincere, but not to the end, there will sometimes be confusion, sometimes gathering together.
Line 2Let oneself be drawn; it brings good fortune and remains blameless. If one is sincere, it furthers one to bring even a small offering.
Line 3Gathering together amid sighs. Nothing that would further. Going is without blame. Slight humiliation.
Line 4Great good fortune. No blame.
Line 5If in gathering together one has position, this brings no blame. If there are some who are not yet sincerely in the work, sublime and enduring perseverance is needed.
Line 6Lamenting and sighing, floods of tears. No blame.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the makeup of Hexagram 45?
Cui (萃) sets the Lake trigram (Dui, 兑) over the Earth trigram (Kun, 坤). Water pooled upon the ground was the ancients' image of people and resources collecting in one place — the root of the meaning of gathering together.
What does the judgment of Hexagram 45 say?
It reads: 'Gathering Together. Success. The king approaches his temple. It furthers one to see the great man.' The old commentaries explain that a great assembly needs a center and a leader — the temple and the great man — or the gathering has nothing to hold it together.
Why does Hexagram 45 speak of gathering amid sighs?
The third line, 'Gathering together amid sighs. Nothing that would further,' was read as the honest underside of assembly. The commentators saw in it a reminder that gathering is not always joyful — when people come together without a real common purpose, the result can be strain rather than strength.
Related
Source: Judgment and line texts follow the Wilhelm/Baynes rendering of the Yijing.
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