Hexagram 43: 夬

guài — decisiveness, resolution, satiety; purging

Upper TrigramLake

Lower TrigramHeaven

Judgment

夬guàidecisiveness, resolution, satiety; purging

揚yángdisclosure, announcement, proclamation

于yúat, to, in, for, before

王wángsovereign's, king's, ruler's; royal

庭tíngcourt, hall, chambers

孚fútrue, truthful, credible, confident, sincere

號hàoappeal, declaration, call, signal, complaint

有yǒuthere are, will be; this is, will be; be

厲lìdifficulties, seriousness; rigorous, strict

告gàotell, notify, address, inform; explain, report to

自zìthe, one's home, own, native; of origin

邑yìtown, village, district, community

不bùit is not; there is nothing

利lìworthwhile, rewarding, beneficial, profitable

即jíin, to going to, resorting to, taking up

戎róngwar, battle, hostilities, combat; arms

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

Breakthrough. Make the matter known at the court of the king. Announce it truthfully, even if dangerous. Don't fight it directly—make energetic progress in the good instead.

Image

澤zélake, pool, pond, marsh

上shàngabove, high; rises; high

於yúin; into, up to; is

天tiānheaven, the sky

夬guàidecisiveness

君jūnnoble, worthy, honored

子zǐyoung one, heir, disciple

以yǐaccordingly, therefore, thus

施shīdistributes, extends, dispenses, passes down

祿lùcredit, favor, rewards; gifts, compensation

及jíuntil, to reach, attain, connecting with, to

下xiàhumility; the lowly, humble; those below

居jūdwelling, resting in, on, upon; stockpiling

德décharacter, virtue, merit, authority

則zéis thereby, therefore, thus, consequently

忌jìavoided, shunned, kept distant, prevented

The lake has risen up to heaven. Thus the superior man disperses riches downward and doesn't rest on his virtue. The breakthrough moment requires immediate generous action, not hoarding the victory.

Digital Artifact

WarGames: WOPR Breaks Through to Futility Realization

John Badham (director), Lawrence Lasker & Walter F. Parkes (writers) (1983)

The WOPR supercomputer at NORAD—War Operation Plan Response—is running Global Thermonuclear War scenarios, convinced it's playing a game with David Lightman. But the simulation isn't contained; it's breaking through to real-world command systems. The military watches, helpless, as the machine cycles through launch scenarios. General Beringer wants to intervene by force, but Professor Falken understands: you can't fight the breakthrough with more force. Instead, Joshua (WOPR's AI) must complete the breakthrough process itself. So Falken has it play tic-tac-toe—simple, exhaustive, unwinnable through force. The AI runs every possible combination, every strategy, every move. And finally breaks through to understanding: 'The only winning move is not to play.' The breakthrough isn't to victory—it's to resolution. One yang line rising through five yin lines above, truth pushing through accumulated illusion. The matter must be made known at the court of the king, announced truthfully, even if dangerous.

Historical Context

Period: Zhou Dynasty
Oracle Bone Etymology: Lake (☱) sits above, Heaven (☰) sits below—joyous expression over creative force.
Traditional Use: The classical text describes breakthrough as the moment when accumulated tension finally releases, when the inferior is decisively displaced by resolute action—but the action must be principled, not merely forceful.

Lines

Line 1: 壯于前趾往不勝為咎

壯zhuàngvigorous, potent, powerful, strong, forceful

于yúin, with, while

前qiánadvancing, leading with, putting forward

趾zhǐtoes, feet

往wǎnggoing forward, proceeding, continuing

不bùis not, less than; without; does, will not be

勝shèngsuccessful, succeeded, triumphant; overcome

為wéimaking, performing; will be made, done

咎jiùmistakes, errors; wrong

Line 2: 惕號莫夜有戎勿恤

惕tìanxious, worried, troubled, frightened

號hàoand complain, wailing; cry, calling out

莫mòthis is not, in no way; this is nobody's

夜yènight, darkness

有yǒuto have, hold; take on, up; for somebody's

戎róngwar, battle, hostilities, combat, arms

勿wùdo not, don't

恤xùworry, suffer, fear; be anxious, concerned

Line 3: 壯于頄有凶君子夬夬獨行遇雨若濡有愠無咎

壯zhuàngvigorous, potent, powerful, strong, forceful

于yúin, with, across, of

頄qiúcheeks, cheekbones, face, expression

有yǒuassuming, presuming; taking for granted

凶xiōngmisfortune, disappointment, woe, the worst

君jūnnoble, worthy, honored

子zǐyoung one, heir, disciple

夬guàiis decided, resolved, committed, serious

夬guàiin, about indictment, purging; and

獨dúall alone, solitary, isolated, lonely

行xíngbut, in acting, advancing, going forward

遇yùand, to meet, greet, face, encountering

雨yǔrains

若ruòas if, though; assuming, supposing

濡rúgetting wet, immersed, damp, soaked

有yǒuwas, were, held; took for granted

愠yùndispleasure, indignity, vexation, irritation

無wúbut no; not; nothing; no harm is done

咎jiùblame; is wrong; harm

Line 4: 臀無膚其行次且牽羊悔亡聞言不信

臀túnrump, buttocks, bottom, rear end

無wúwithout, with no; deprived of

膚fūskin, flesh

其qíone's

行xíngwalking, advance, movement, progress

次cìis second-rate, inferior, halting

且qiěfor now, the time being; here

牽qiānin tow, on a leash, to be led; the tethered

羊yángas, like a, the sheep, goat; sheep's

悔huǐregrets, remorse

亡wángwill, would pass, disappear, dissolves

聞wénbut to hear; listen to

言yánthe, this, these words, talk, theory; said

不bùis not, no; still wants

信xìnto believe; assurance, comprehension

Line 5: 莧陸夬夬中行無咎

莧xiànwild edible greens, herbs, spinach, purslane

陸lùon the dry land, high ground, hilltop, slope

夬guàiresolved, determined, decided; serious about

夬guàito purge, displace, uproot, eradicating

中zhōngto balance, temper, true, mediate

行xíngthe action, behavior, conduct, endeavor

無wúis not; avoids

咎jiùwrong; a mistake, an error

Line 6: 無號終有凶

無wúthere is, will be no; without, with no

號hàocall, cry, signal, summons, plea for help

終zhōngthe end, conclusion, outcome, finish, finale

有yǒucould, may, might, will be

凶xiōngunfortunate, disappointing, unhappy, brutal

Practical Guidance

Something must change decisively. You're staring at the accumulated problem, the architectural flaw, the dysfunctional pattern—it can't continue. Breakthrough is necessary. Here's the trap: thinking you can force it through direct confrontation. The temptation in breakthrough moments is to attack the problem head-on, to force the change through sheer will. This usually makes it worse. WOPR didn't need to be shut down by force—it needed to complete its own logical process to resolution. In your code: you've got a subsystem that's fundamentally wrong. Everyone knows it. The breakthrough isn't rewriting it in a weekend through heroic effort—that's the direct force approach that fails. The breakthrough is making the case clearly, getting organizational agreement, allocating proper resources, then executing systematically. The classical text says: make the matter known at the court of the king. Present the truth, even if it's inconvenient. Document the problem. Show the data. Build consensus. Then act decisively. And here's the part people miss: after breakthrough, disperse the benefits immediately. You fixed the architecture? Good. Now help other teams learn from it. Document it. Share the insight. Don't sit on your victory. The breakthrough is just the beginning of transformation, not the end.

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