渙
“Dispersing” — King Wen #59
Dissolution of blockage. Like wind over water, sweep away separation and regroup.
The Judgment 卦辞
亨，王假有廟，利涉大川，利貞。
Huan intimates that (under its conditions) there will be progress and success. The king goes to his ancestral temple; and it will be advantageous to cross the great stream. It will be advantageous to be firm and correct.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
用拯馬壯，吉。
The first SIX, divided, shows its subject engaged in rescuing (from the impending evil) and having (the assistance of) a strong horse. There will be good fortune.
渙奔其機，悔亡。
The second NINE, undivided, shows its subject, amid the dispersion, hurrying to his contrivance (for security). All occasion for repentance will disappear.
渙其躬，無悔。
The third SIX, divided, shows its subject discarding any regard to his own person. There will be no occasion for repentance.
渙其群，元吉；渙有丘，匪夷所思。
The fourth SIX, divided, shows its subject scattering the (different) parties (in the state); which leads to great good fortune. From the dispersion (he collects again good men standing out, a crowd) like a mound, which is what ordinary men would not have thought of.
渙汗其大號，渙王居，無咎。
The fifth NINE, undivided, shows its subject amidst the dispersion issuing his great announcements as the perspiration (flows from his body). He scatters abroad (also) the accumulations in the royal granaries. There will be no error.
渙其血去逖出，無咎。
The topmost NINE, undivided, shows its subject disposing of (what may be called) its bloody wounds, and going and separating himself from its anxious fears. There will be no error.
Reading the Picture
Hexagram 59 places water (坎) beneath wind (巽) —water finding its way through hard gaps below, gentle influence working inward above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Dispersing”:dissolution of blockage. Like wind over water, sweep away separation and regroup Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
Questions About Hexagram 59
What does 渙 (huàn) mean?
Hexagram 59 of the I Ching is named 渙 (huàn), usually rendered "Dispersing" in English editions. Its figure pairs water (坎) below with wind (巽) above.
Which trigrams form hexagram 59?
巽 (Wind) sits above and 坎 (Water) sits below — the classical picture is water finding its way through hard gaps beneath gentle influence working inward.
How is hexagram 59 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 59 gives hexagram 55 — 豐 (Abounding). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 60 — 節 (Articulating). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 27 — 頤 (Swallowing).
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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.