Hexagram 25: 無妄
wú wàng —without pretense, without presumption, without falseness
By Augustin Chan · Last updated 2025
Upper TrigramHeaven
Lower TrigramThunder
Judgment
無wúwithout, with no, having no
妄wàngpretense, presumption; falseness, guile
元yuánmost; first-rate, supreme, excellent
亨hēngfulfilling; fulfillment, satisfaction, success
利lìworthwhile, rewarding, beneficial
貞zhēnto persist, be loyal, dedicated, steadfast
其qíif, for one who, those, someone
匪fěiis without, devoid of; not being; never
正zhènguprightness, integrity, ethics; upright, true
有yǒuthere will be; has, have; will find
眚shěngsuffering, distress, injury; grave error, consequences
不bùand it is not much; will not be; nothing
利lìworthwhile, rewarding, beneficial
有yǒuto, in have, find, taking on
攸yōusomewhere; a place, direction, purpose
往wǎngto go, move towards; in going; ahead
Innocence. Supreme success. Perseverance furthers. If one is not as one should be, there is misfortune.
Image
天tiānheaven, the sky
下xiàbelow, beneath, under
雷léithe thunder
行xíngmoves; acts, sets forth, is on the move
物wùthe beings, creatures, entities; creation
與yǔcollaborate, interact, take part, participate
無wúwithout
妄wàngpretense
先xiānthe ancient, early, original, former, founding
王wángsovereigns, kings, rulers, fathers
以yǐaccordingly, therefore, thus
茂màoprospered, flourished, thrived, developed
對duìaccording to, consistent with, by, as befit
時shíthe season, time, occasion, opportunity
育yùand nurtured, nourished, fostered
萬wànthe myriad, ten thousand; all of
物wùbeings, creatures, things; creation
Under heaven, thunder rolls: the image of Innocence. Thus the superior person enriches their character and acts without ulterior motive.
Cellular Automaton
Conway’s Game of Life — First Glider
John H. Conway (Bell Labs / Mathematical folklore) (AD 1970)
Five pixels, three rules, and then—movement with no pilot. In the Game of Life, a tiny pattern called a "glider" discovers locomotion without intention. This is 無妄: action arising from law, not from schemes. No plot, no hidden agenda—just the universe doing what it does when constraints are clean. When the board is honest, life moves on its own. Interfere for cleverness and you kill it; set the rules true and you get surprise—supreme success—without trying.
Historical Context
- Period
- Zhou Dynasty
- Oracle Bone Etymology
- Heaven (☰) above, Thunder (☳) below—creative principle presiding over spontaneous arousal.
- Traditional Use
- Innocence = the unexpected that accords with natural order. Do what is correct; let outcomes emerge. Calculated guile brings misfortune.
Lines
Line 1: 無妄往吉
無wúwithout, with no, having no
妄wàngpretense, presumption; falseness, guile
往wǎngto go forth, forward, advance, proceed
吉jíis promising, auspicious, opportune, timely
Line 2: 不耕穫不菑畬則利有攸往
不bùwhen, where, if not, without, there is no
耕gēngploughing, tilling
穫huòto, the harvest, reap, yield, cut
不bùand when, where, if not, without
菑zīclearing, breaking new ground, soil
畬yúin, for established, cultivated third year fields
則zéthen; in due order, consequently it is
利lìworthwhile, rewarding, beneficial
有yǒuto have, find, take on; if there is
攸yōusomewhere; a place, direction, purpose
往wǎngto go, move towards; in going; ahead
Line 3: 無妄之災或繫之牛行人之得邑人之災
無wúone without, with no, having no
妄wàngpretense, presumption; falseness, guile
之zhīstill, yet has, holds its; comes to
災zāimisfortune, calamity, adversity, accidents
或huòas when somebody, someone; sometimes
繫xìtethers, ties up; tethering, tying up
之zhīone's, that; his, her, their
牛niúox, cow, cattle and
行xíngon the move; the one
人rénis, means a, the drifter
之zhīhas; ...'s
得déa, an, the find, gain, catch, acquisition
邑yìand is a, the town, village, community
人réninhabitant, member, residents; people, folk
之zhī...'s; ... s'; has, have; come to
災zāia, the calamity, misfortune, adversity, crisis
Line 4: 可貞無咎
可kěinviting; asking, calling for; may there be
貞zhēnpersistence, determination, loyalty, truth
無wúis no, not, nothing; avoids
咎jiùwrong; a mistake, an error
Line 5: 無妄之疾勿藥有喜
無wúone without, with no, having no
妄wàngpretense, presumption; falseness, guile
之zhīstill, yet has, gets, holds its; comes to
疾jíillness, dis-ease, ill, ailment, afflictions; ill
勿wùdo not, don't, never; avoid; permit no
藥yàomedicate, drug; medicines, medication
有yǒuto attain, find, bring about, gain
喜xǐhappiness, enjoyment, well-being
Line 6: 無妄行有眚無攸利
無wúeven, when without, with no, having no
妄wàngpretense, presumption; falseness, guile
行xíngbut, yet advance, progress, activity, going
有yǒubrings about, becomes, has, finds
眚shěngsuffering, distress, error, injury, evil consequence
無wúthis is no, not; this lacks, has no
攸yōua direction, purpose; an aim, orientation
利lìwith merit, of value, with rewards
Practical Guidance
1970. Conway's playing with cellular automata on graph paper, testing simple rules: a cell lives or dies based on its neighbors. B3/S23—born with three neighbors, survives with two or three. He's not trying to engineer movement. He's watching what lawful structure produces.
Then the glider appears. Five pixels arranging themselves into a pattern that walks diagonally across the grid,永遠, forever, unguided. No pilot, no program telling it where to go. Just three rules applied honestly and the universe discovers locomotion.
This is 無妄—innocence. Not naïveté; disciplined non-contrivance. You set the constraints that matter: clean interfaces, real tests, truthful inputs. Then you don't meddle. The moment you act from angle—shipping features users didn't ask for, tweaking metrics to look good, engineering outcomes instead of surfacing them—you corrupt the field. The glider stops gliding. Emergent behavior dies.
The failure mode isn't insufficient planning. It's contaminating the board with cleverness. You can't force emergence; you can only build the lawful conditions and let structure discover what it discovers. The arrogant engineer believes they can steer every outcome. The honest one sets the rules true and watches what walks out of the grid.
Conway didn't design the glider. He designed the universe it could exist in. Build the board honest, then step back. Supreme success arises from law, not schemes.
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