I Ching Hexagram 47: Kun (困), Oppression — Meaning and Lines
I Ching Hexagram 47, Kun (困): Oppression. Kan below Dui, judgement, six lines, a careful reading.
Key points
| Number | 47 of 64 (King Wen sequence) |
|---|---|
| Chinese name | Kun (困) |
| Name in French | Kun (accablement), l'Accablement (Oppression) |
| Lower trigram | ☵ Kan, Water |
| Upper trigram | ☱ Dui, Lake |
| Image | A lake without water: exhaustion, a blocked situation |
| Twin hexagram | No. 48, Jing, The Well |
| Nature of the text | A book of wisdom and oracle, a tool for reflection, not a prediction |
Kun (oppression): what is it about?
Hexagram 47, Kun (困, pronounced roughly "kwun"), speaks of oppression: being caught in a situation that hampers, like a tree shut in a frame (this is the image of the character). Warning: this Kun is written differently from the Kun of hexagram 2 and from the trigram of the Earth (坤); only the pinyin pronunciation is the same, hence the clarification "oppression" in the name.
The two trigrams
The first three lines (at the bottom) form the lower trigram, the last three the upper one. Here, the Water (Kan) lies beneath the Lake (Dui).
| Position | Trigram | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Upper (top) | ☱ Dui, the Lake | The lake |
| Lower (bottom) | ☵ Kan, the Water | The water |
The Lake above the Water: the water has passed beneath the lake, and the lake is dry. A reservoir without water is a resource that is missing exactly when it is needed.
The judgement in brief
Yet the judgement says: success, and good fortune for the upright person, without fault; but words are not believed. My summary: in hardship, inner firmness is what counts, and there is no point arguing when one is not being listened to. The commentary on the Image says, in substance, that the noble person stays faithful to their path to the end, even at great cost; the formula is ancient and is read in more or less radical ways.
General meaning
Kun describes an exhaustion of means: money, energy, support, credit. The situation is not described as hopeless, but it is not untangled by force: one must remain steady and wait for the right moment.
The images are concrete and sometimes harsh (a bare tree trunk, brambles, punishments): they describe a climate of oppression, not a sentence.
The six lines, from bottom to top
Each line is summarised in my own words; the ancient text is very elliptical and commentators complete it in different ways.
- Line 1, at the bottom (yin). One sits on a bare trunk, then sinks into a dark valley: three years without appearing. A forced withdrawal that bogs down.
- Line 2 (yang). Hampered by abundance (meals, drinks) while honours arrive: good resources, but a burden; hurrying forward turns out badly.
- Line 3 (yin). Caught between a stone and thorns, one returns home and does not find one's companion: an enclosure without support.
- Line 4 (yang). Help arrives slowly, held back by a ceremonial carriage: a little shame, but a good outcome.
- Line 5 (yang). Punishments and pressure from above; liberation comes gradually, and recourse to ritual helps.
- Line 6, at the top (yin). Surrounded by creepers and standing on a precarious point of balance, one says: "to move will bring regret". With this regret, however, leaving becomes favourable.
Changing lines
A "changing" line is about to turn into its opposite. One reads its text, then the hexagram that arises from the change, taken as the direction the situation is taking; schools differ when several lines are changing.
| Changing line | Change | Resulting hexagram |
|---|---|---|
| Line 1 | yin becomes yang | No. 58, Dui, The Joyous |
| Line 2 | yang becomes yin | No. 45, Cui, The Gathering |
| Line 3 | yin becomes yang | No. 28, Da Guo, Preponderance of the Great |
| Line 4 | yang becomes yin | No. 29, Kan, The Abysmal |
| Line 5 | yang becomes yin | No. 40, Xie, Deliverance |
| Line 6 | yin becomes yang | No. 6, Song, Conflict |
If all six lines changed together, the result would be No. 22 (Bi (grace), Grace). The last three lines show the direction of the path: line 4 announces a help that is slow to come, line 5 a gradual liberation, line 6 the moment when one finally dares to move.
A careful modern reading
Kun reads as the image of a period in which everything jams: overload, lack of means, misunderstandings. Current readings find in it an invitation not to fight the wall, to conserve one's strength and not to keep justifying oneself. If this period is accompanied by real distress, deep exhaustion or dark thoughts, this book is not the right interlocutor: speak to a health professional, or call 3114 (suicide prevention line in France) or 112 (the emergency number across the European Union).
Questions for reflection
- Which resource do I truly lack, and which one do I still have?
- To whom have I stopped explaining myself, and why?
- What can I stop doing in order to save my strength?
- Which regret keeps me from moving, and is it justified?
Mistakes to avoid
- Confusing Kun (oppression, 困) with Kun (the Earth, 坤): two characters, two hexagrams.
- Reading the Image as a call to self-sacrifice: it is an ancient and ambiguous sentence, and it never excuses us from asking for help.
- Taking hexagram 47 as a prediction or as medical, financial, legal or safety advice: the I Ching is a tool for reflection, and such decisions belong to a professional.
Other names and other translations
The name "Kun (oppression), Oppression" follows one translation tradition among others; in Chinese, Kun (困). Other translations speak of oppression, exhaustion, distress or confinement; in English one finds "oppression", "exhaustion" or "confining".
In the King Wen sequence, it forms a pair with No. 48 (Jing, The Well), whose figure is its own read upside down. Full list: the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching.
Frequently asked questions
What does hexagram 47 of the I Ching mean?
Kun (困), oppression: a period in which resources and support are lacking, and in which inner uprightness counts for more than words.
Which trigrams make up hexagram 47?
Kan, the Water, below, and Dui, the Lake, above: a lake whose water has passed beneath it.
Are Kun 47 and Kun 2 related?
No. They are two different Chinese characters (困 and 坤) that pinyin writes in the same way. The first is oppression, the second the Receptive.
Does this hexagram announce a failure?
No. The judgement speaks of success for the upright person, and the last lines evoke a gradual liberation. The text describes an ordeal, not a fate.
What happens when a line of hexagram 47 is changing?
It turns into its opposite and gives birth to a second hexagram, read as the direction the situation is taking. The table on this page gives the resulting hexagram for each of the six lines.
Can hexagram 47 be relied on to make a decision?
It can nourish reflection, but it can never replace the advice of a professional. For health, money, law or safety, consult the competent person; in case of distress, call 3114 or 112 in France (112 is the emergency number across the European Union).
Also read
The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice. Back to The 64 hexagrams of the Yi King.