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Hexagram 38: Kui (睽) — Opposition
Hexagram 38, Kui (睽) — Opposition, is the thirty-eighth figure of the Book of Changes, composed of the Fire trigram over the Lake trigram; the ancients read it as divergence and estrangement.
Meaning
Kui is the hexagram of the split. Fire burns upward while the lake sinks downward, and the old readers saw two natures that move in opposite directions — people, purposes, or feelings that no longer pull together. The judgment is unexpectedly mild: in small matters, good fortune. The book's point is that even in estrangement there is room for the small, patient things that keep a connection alive until the breach can be mended.
Measured against working life, the figure is about the reality of disagreement. The lines are full of suspicion — a wagon dragged back, oxen halted, a companion seen as a pig covered in dirt or a wagon full of devils. The commentators read these as the distortions that come with estrangement: once trust cracks, everything the other person does looks wrong. The wise person acts in small matters and refuses to let suspicion do the deciding.
For two people who have fallen out, Kui was read as the quarrel that does not have to end the bond. The closing line is the book's finest image of reconciliation: first one draws a bow against him, then one lays the bow aside — he is not a robber, he will woo at the right time. Estrangement is often a matter of misreading, and the cure is to see the other person plainly again.
Within a cycle, this figure marks a phase of divergence that asks for patience rather than force. It is the moment when pulling together has failed and the temptation is to pull apart entirely. The image of fire above the lake is the book's picture of two forces that cannot be made the same — and the counsel is to respect the difference while keeping the door open for reunion.
The Judgment
“Opposition. In small matters, good fortune.”
The Six Lines of Opposition
Line 1Remorse disappears. If you lose your horse, do not run after it; it will come back of its own accord. When you see evil people, guard yourself against mistakes.
Line 2One meets his lord in a narrow street. No blame.
Line 3One sees the wagon dragged back, the oxen halted, a man's hair and nose cut off. Not a good beginning, but a good end.
Line 4Isolated through opposition, one meets a likeminded man with whom one can associate in good faith. Despite the danger, no blame.
Line 5Remorse disappears. The companion bites his way through the wrappings. If one goes to him, how could it be a mistake?
Line 6Isolated through opposition, one sees one's companion as a pig covered with dirt, as a wagon full of devils. First one draws a bow against him; then one lays the bow aside. He is not a robber; he will woo at the right time.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How are the trigrams of Hexagram 38 arranged?
Kui (睽) sets the Fire trigram (Li, 离) over the Lake trigram (Dui, 兑). Fire rising while water sinks was the ancients' image of two natures moving in opposite directions — the source of the meaning of opposition.
What does the judgment of Hexagram 38 say?
It reads: 'Opposition. In small matters, good fortune.' The old commentaries explain that during a breach the grand gestures only deepen it — it is the small, patient acts of goodwill that keep a connection alive until the estrangement can be mended.
What is meant by laying the bow aside?
The closing line says: first one draws a bow against him, then one lays the bow aside — he is not a robber, he will woo at the right time. The commentators saw this as the turning point of the figure, the moment suspicion is dropped and the other person is seen clearly again.
Related
Source: Judgment and line texts follow the Wilhelm/Baynes rendering of the Yijing.
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