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Eight Introductory Lessons / 06

Judgements and Line Statements

Each hexagram has a judgement; each line has its own statement. Learn what these texts are and which one to read.

Two kinds of text

The original text attached to a hexagram comes in two kinds.

The judgement: one passage for the whole hexagram, speaking about it as a whole. The judgement of hexagram 17, Following, reads "Following. Supreme success. Perseverance furthers. No blame." There are sixty-four of them.

Line statements: one passage per line, each speaking about that line. The statement for the bottom line of Following reads "Nine in the first place: the standard is changing. Perseverance brings good fortune. To go out of the door with results brings achievement." Sixty-four hexagrams times six lines gives three hundred and eighty-four.

In addition, Qian and Kun each carry one extra passage, used only when all six lines move. Altogether that makes four hundred and fifty passages of original text.

Keep the text and its commentary apart

Open any edition and you will find, alongside the judgements and line statements, texts called the Tuan, the Xiang, the Wenyan and others. Together these are the Ten Wings: commentary written later to explain the earlier text.

The distinction matters in practice. The judgements and line statements are what is being explained; the Tuan and Xiang are one way of explaining them. Reading the two as a single block makes it easy to mistake one school's account for what the original text says.

The hexagram library in this app keeps the original text, the classical commentary and the modern plain-language explanation in separate fields, so that the line stays visible.

Which passage to read

A hexagram carries a judgement plus six line statements, and you do not read all of them every time. The usual approach is to let the number of moving lines decide which passage is the main one. The scheme below was set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue Qimeng, and is the one this app follows:

No moving line: read the judgement of the primary hexagram. One: read that line's statement in the primary hexagram. Two: read both line statements in the primary hexagram, with the upper one as the main text. Three: read the judgements of both hexagrams, with the primary one as the main text. Four: read the statements of the two unmoving lines in the resulting hexagram, with the lower one as the main text. Five: read the statement of the single unmoving line in the resulting hexagram. Six: read the judgement of the resulting hexagram — unless the primary hexagram is Qian or Kun, in which case read their extra passage.

One tendency is visible: when little moves you stay with the primary hexagram, and when a lot moves the weight shifts to the resulting one.

There is more than one scheme

The scheme above is widely transmitted, but it is one systematisation rather than the single accepted reading. Other positions exist across the tradition — always starting from the judgement, or giving precedence to one particular line — each with its own reasoning.

This app picks one scheme and names its source so that every displayed result can be checked. That is not a claim that other readings are wrong. If you follow a different scheme, you are not being less orthodox.

What matters is knowing which scheme you are using, and staying consistent with it.

Try it yourself

This lesson has a hands-on exercise. It is built into the Traditional Chinese lesson page, where you can try it straight away: open the interactive exercise.

Quick Quiz

What is a line statement?
  • A passage attached to each of the six lines — six per hexagram.
  • The single passage covering the whole hexagram.
  • Commentary written later to explain the text.
View answers and explanations for every option

A separate original passage for each line, six passages per hexagram. (Correct) : Correct. Sixty-four hexagrams times six lines give 384 passages, plus Qian's Use of the Nines and Kun's Use of the Sixes.

The single passage covering the whole hexagram. : That is the judgment, one per hexagram. Line texts give one passage for each line.

Commentary written later to explain the text. : That is the Yi Zhuan, the Commentaries on the Changes, such as the Judgment and Image commentaries. Line texts belong to the original classic being explained.

What is the standing of the Tuan and Xiang commentaries?
  • Later commentary — one way of explaining the original text.
  • The oldest layer, with the judgements and line statements added later.
  • A modern plain-language translation.
View answers and explanations for every option

Later commentaries offering interpretations of the classic. (Correct) : Correct. Collectively called the Yi Zhuan, they were composed after the hexagram and line texts and should be distinguished from those texts when cited.

The oldest layer, with the judgements and line statements added later. : The order is reversed. Hexagram and line texts came first; the Yi Zhuan comments on them.

A modern plain-language translation. : They are ancient documents written in classical language. Plain-language explanations form another, much later layer.

Under the scheme this app follows, which passage is the main text when exactly one line moves?
  • The statement of that moving line in the primary hexagram.
  • The judgement of the resulting hexagram.
  • The judgement of the primary hexagram.
View answers and explanations for every option

The changing line's text in the original hexagram. (Correct) : Correct. With few changing lines, attention stays on the original and specifically on the line that changes.

The judgement of the resulting hexagram. : That method applies to six changing lines when the original is neither Qian nor Kun. One changing line stays with the original.

The judgement of the primary hexagram. : That is the method for zero changing lines. With one changing line, the rule directs you to that line's text.

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