Hexagram 18: Repair
蠱Gǔ
Fixing what was handed down.
The passages below are historical language. Their references to fortune, danger, and the exemplary person belong to the text’s world. Our modern explanation is an invitation to reflect on your situation.
The Judgment
Classical Chinese
蠱。 元亨，利涉大川。先甲三日，後甲三日。
Our English rendering
Repair. Great success. Crossing the great river is favorable. Three days before the jia day, and three days after the jia day.
The Image
Classical Chinese
象曰：山下有風，蠱。君子以振民育德。
Our English rendering
Wind lies beneath the mountain: Repair. A person of integrity therefore rouses the people and nurtures virtue.
Translation note: Gu names a condition of decay or corruption; Repair is the site's established name. Jia is a named calendar day in the source. The three days before and after are retained without assigning a modern date or deadline.
A modern reading
Wind beneath a mountain places movement under a heavy, established form. The Image calls for rousing people and cultivating virtue, connecting repair with the condition of those who must carry it out. A present reflection can begin with what has been allowed to deteriorate: an arrangement, habit, or neglected responsibility. Understanding how people have learned to live with that condition may be necessary before you can ask them to take part in changing it.
The Judgment places three days on each side of a named day, giving attention to both preparation and what follows. A repair has a history before the visible intervention and consequences afterward. For contemporary use, consider what needs checking before a change and how you will know whether it holds. The great river crossing gives the work a substantial scale, while the paired periods encourage you to include the surrounding work in your plan.
A question to sit with
What will you need to understand before making the repair, and what will you check after it?
Source and method
The Judgment and Image are classical passages from the Book of Changes. The English rendering and modern explanation are Meow Ching’s editorial work. This page covers these two passages; it does not translate the six individual line texts.
Read the classical text on Wikisource · Our sources and method