漸
“Infiltrating” — King Wen #53
Gradual advance, like the wild goose nearing solid ground. Step by ordered step.
The Judgment 卦辞
女歸吉，利貞。
Jian suggests to us the marriage of a young lady, and the good fortune (attending it). There will be advantage in being firm and correct.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
鴻漸于干；小子厲，有言，無咎。
The first SIX, divided, shows the wild geese gradually approaching the shore. A young officer (in similar circumstances) will be in a position of danger, and be spoken against; but there will be no error.
鴻漸于磐，飲食衎衎，吉。
The second SIX, divided, shows the geese gradually approaching the large rocks, where they eat and drink joyfully and at ease. There will be good fortune.
鴻漸于陸，夫征不復，婦孕不育，凶；利禦寇。
The third NINE, undivided, shows them gradually advanced to the dry plains. (It suggests also the idea of) a husband who goes on an expedition from which he does not return, and of a wife who is pregnant, but will not nourish her child. There will be evil. (The case symbolised) might be advantageous in resisting plunderers.
鴻漸于木，或得其桷，無咎。
The fourth SIX, divided, shows the geese gradually advanced to the trees. They may light on the flat branches. There will be no error.
鴻漸于陵，婦三歲不孕；終莫之勝，吉。
The fifth NINE, undivided, shows the geese gradually advanced to the high mound. (It suggests the idea of) a wife who for three years does not become pregnant; but in the end the natural issue cannot be prevented. There will be good fortune.
鴻漸于陸，其羽可用為儀，吉。
The sixth NINE, undivided, shows the geese gradually advanced to the large heights (beyond). Their feathers can be used as ornaments. There will be good fortune.
Reading the Picture
Hexagram 53 places mountain (艮) beneath wind (巽) —stillness holding its ground below, gentle influence working inward above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Infiltrating”:gradual advance, like the wild goose nearing solid ground. Step by ordered step Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
Questions About Hexagram 53
What does 漸 (jiàn) mean?
Hexagram 53 of the I Ching is named 漸 (jiàn), usually rendered "Infiltrating" in English editions. Its figure pairs mountain (艮) below with wind (巽) above.
Which trigrams form hexagram 53?
巽 (Wind) sits above and 艮 (Mountain) sits below — the classical picture is stillness holding its ground beneath gentle influence working inward.
How is hexagram 53 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 53 gives hexagram 54 — 歸妹 (Converting the Maiden). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 54 — 歸妹 (Converting the Maiden). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 64 — 未濟 (Not Yet Fording).
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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.