咸
“Conjoining” — King Wen #31
Mutual attraction. Influence flows both ways; meet the other with sincerity.
The Judgment 卦辞
亨，利貞。取女吉。
Xian indicates that, (on the fulfilment of the conditions implied in it), there will be free course and success. Its advantageousness will depend on the being firm and correct, (as) in marrying a young lady. There will be good fortune.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
咸其拇。
The first six, divided, shows one moving his great toes.
咸其腓，凶；居吉。
The second SIX, divided, shows one moving the calves of his leg. There will be evil. If he abide (quiet in his place), there will be good fortune.
咸其股，執其隨，往吝。
The third NINE, undivided, shows one moving his thighs, and keeping close hold of those whom he follows. Going forward (in this way) will cause regret.
貞吉，悔亡，憧憧往來，朋從爾思。
The fourth NINE, undivided, shows that firm correctness whi.ch will lead to good fortune, and prevent all occasion for repentance. If its subject be unsettled in his movements, (only) his friends will follow his purpose.
咸其脢，無悔。
The fifth NINE, undivided, shows one moving the flesh along the spine above the heart. There will be no occasion for repentance.
咸其輔頰舌。
The sixth six, divided, shows one moving his jaws and tongue.
Reading the Picture
Hexagram 31 places mountain (艮) beneath lake (兑) —stillness holding its ground below, joy lifting what it touches above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Conjoining”:mutual attraction. Influence flows both ways; meet the other with sincerity Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
Questions About Hexagram 31
What does 咸 (xián) mean?
Hexagram 31 of the I Ching is named 咸 (xián), usually rendered "Conjoining" in English editions. Its figure pairs mountain (艮) below with lake (兑) above.
Which trigrams form hexagram 31?
兑 (Lake) sits above and 艮 (Mountain) sits below — the classical picture is stillness holding its ground beneath joy lifting what it touches.
How is hexagram 31 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 31 gives hexagram 41 — 損 (Diminishing). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 32 — 恆 (Persevering). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 44 — 姤 (Coupling).
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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.