艮
“Bound” — King Wen #52
Stillness. Keep to your place, like the resting mountain — stop when it is time to stop.
The Judgment 卦辞
艮其背，不獲其身；行其庭，不見其人，無咎。
When one's resting is like that of the back, and he loses all consciousness of self; when he walks in his courtyard, and does not see any (of the persons) in it,--there will be no error.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
艮其趾，無咎，利永貞。
The first SIX, divided, shows its subject keeping his toes at rest. There will be no error; but it will be advantageous for him to be persistently firm and correct.
艮其腓，不拯其隨，其心不快。
The second SIX, divided, shows its subject keeping the calves of his legs at rest. He cannot help (the subject of the line above) whom he follows, and is dissatisfied in his mind.
艮其限，列其夤，厲燻心。
The third NINE, undivided, shows its subject keeping his loins at rest, and separating the ribs (from the body below). The situation is perilous, and the heart glows with suppressed excitement.
艮其身，無咎。
The fourth SIX, divided, shows its subject keeping his trunk at rest. There will be no error.
艮其輔，言有序，悔亡。
S. The fifth SIX, divided, shows its subject keeping his jawbones at rest, so that his words are (all) orderly. Occasion for repentance will disappear.
敦艮，吉。
The sixth NINE, undivided, shows its subject devotedly maintaining his restfulness. There will be good fortune.
Reading the Picture
Hexagram 52 places mountain (艮) beneath mountain (艮) —stillness holding its ground below, stillness holding its ground above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Bound”:stillness. Keep to your place, like the resting mountain — stop when it is time to stop Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
Questions About Hexagram 52
What does 艮 (gèn) mean?
Hexagram 52 of the I Ching is named 艮 (gèn), usually rendered "Bound" in English editions. Its figure pairs mountain (艮) below with mountain (艮) above.
Which trigrams form hexagram 52?
艮 (Mountain) sits above and 艮 (Mountain) sits below — the classical picture is stillness holding its ground beneath stillness holding its ground.
How is hexagram 52 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 52 gives hexagram 58 — 兌 (Open). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 51 — 震 (Shake). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 40 — 解 (Taking-Apart).
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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.