Hexagram 34: Great Strength
大壯Dà Zhuàng
Power that minds its manners.
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
大壯。 利貞。
Our English rendering
Great Strength. Steadfast uprightness is favorable.
The Image
Classical Chinese
象曰：雷在天上，大壯。君子以非禮弗履。
Our English rendering
Thunder is above heaven: Great Strength. A person of integrity takes no step that violates ritual propriety.
Translation note: 'Ritual propriety' retains the historical meaning of the conduct governed by rites. The modern discussion of agreements and consent is an editorial application, rather than a translation of that ancient social system.
A modern reading
Thunder above heaven gives Great Strength an expansive, forceful setting. The Judgment's short qualification brings that force under an ethical requirement: remain upright and steady. Capacity alone leaves the question of conduct unresolved. When you have influence, momentum, or a strong position, consider the effect of the step you are about to take. Power becomes easier to assess through its use than through the confidence or excitement it gives the person holding it.
The Image concerns the act of stepping, so its restraint applies at the point where intention becomes behavior. Ritual propriety belonged to the ancient social order; a modern reflection can examine the agreements and boundaries relevant to an action today. Someone else's consent, a promised procedure, or a responsibility to those affected may shape what a proper step requires. Strength includes the capacity to observe that requirement even when you could move without it.
A question to sit with
Which agreement or boundary should shape your next step while you have the strength to act?
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