Line 1 Yin
Repair the father's neglected work; the successor accepts responsibility despite difficulty.
← The 64 hexagrams
HEXAGRAM 18 · Gǔ
Repairing What Has Decayed
Inherited decay needs thoughtful repair before and after the turning point.
☶ Above: Gen · Mountain☴ Below: Xun · Wind
Meaning
Wind held beneath the mountain suggests what has gone unattended. Repair requires understanding causes, accepting present responsibility, and following through rather than merely blaming predecessors.
FOR REFLECTION
Which inherited habit or unfinished obligation needs your care, even if you did not create it?
The six lines
Read from line 1 at the bottom to line 6 at the top. These are paraphrases, not verbatim translations.
Line 2 Yang
Repair the mother's neglected work with flexibility rather than rigid insistence.
Line 3 Yang
Active repair of the father's legacy brings some regret without a major fault.
Line 4 Yin
Indulging the father's neglected work allows the damage and its shame to continue.
Line 5 Yin
Repairing the father's work through sound character makes the inheritance worthy.
Line 6 Yang
Do not serve kings and lords; a worthy vocation can stand outside official rank.
References
Classical Zhouyi · 蠱James Legge, The Yî King (1882), Sacred Books of the East XVI, hexagram 18
Editorial policy & bibliography →For reference and reflection. This commentary makes no certain claim about the future.