泰
“Pervading” — King Wen #11
Harmony and flow: heaven and earth are in communion. The small depart, the great advance.
The Judgment 卦辞
小往大來，吉，亨。
In Tai (we see) the little gone and the great come. (It indicates that) there will be good fortune, with progress and success.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
拔茅茹，以其匯，征吉。
The first NINE, undivided, suggests the idea of grass pulled up, and bringing with it other stalks with whose roots it is connected. Advance (on the part of its subject) will be fortunate.
包荒，用馮河，不遐遺；朋亡，得尚于中行。
The second NINE, undivided, shows one who can bear with the uncultivated, will cross the He without a boat, does not forget the distant, and has no (selfish) friendships. Thus does he prove himself acting in accordance with the course of the due Mean.
無平不陂，無往不復；艱貞無咎，勿恤其孚，于食有福。
The third NINE, undivided, shows that, while there is no state of peace that is not liable to be disturbed, and no departure (of evil men) so that they shall not return, yet when one is firm and correct, as he realises the distresses that may arise, he will commit no error. There is no occasion for sadness at the certainty (of such recurring changes); and in this mood the happiness (of the present) may be (long) enjoyed.
翩翩，不富，以其鄰，不戒以孚。
The fourth SIX, divided, shows its subject fluttering (down) - not relying on his own rich resources, but calling in his neighbours. (They all come) not as having received warning, but in the sincerity (of their hearts).
帝乙歸妹，以祉元吉。
The fifth six, divided, reminds us of (king) Di-yi's (rule about the) marriage of his younger sister. By such a course there is happiness and there will be great good fortune.
城復于隍，勿用師，自邑告命，貞吝。
The sixth six, divided, shows us the city wall returned into the moat. It is not the time to use the army. (The subject of the line) may, indeed, announce his orders to the people of his own city; but however correct and firm he may be, he will have cause for regret.
Reading the Picture
Hexagram 11 places heaven (乾) beneath earth (坤) —creative force pressing upward below, receptive ground holding all things above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Pervading”:harmony and flow: heaven and earth are in communion. The small depart, the great advance Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
Questions About Hexagram 11
What does 泰 (tài) mean?
Hexagram 11 of the I Ching is named 泰 (tài), usually rendered "Pervading" in English editions. Its figure pairs heaven (乾) below with earth (坤) above.
Which trigrams form hexagram 11?
坤 (Earth) sits above and 乾 (Heaven) sits below — the classical picture is creative force pressing upward beneath receptive ground holding all things.
How is hexagram 11 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 11 gives hexagram 12 — 否 (Obstruction). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 12 — 否 (Obstruction). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 54 — 歸妹 (Converting the Maiden).
Ask your own question
Reading about hexagram 11 is looking it up. Casting it — shaking the tube, watching your own coins fall — is how an answer becomes yours.
Cast this question yourselfNew to casting? How it works · All 64 hexagrams
Related Hexagrams 錯綜互
1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1899), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text. · For reflection and entertainment — not financial, medical, or life advice.