Hexagram 47: Adversity
困Kùn
A dry lake, a steady resolve.
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
困。 亨，貞，大人吉，無咎。有言不信。
Our English rendering
Adversity. Success. Remain steadfast. For a person of great standing, auspicious. No blame. What is said is not believed.
The Image
Classical Chinese
象曰：澤無水，困。君子以致命遂志。
Our English rendering
The lake has no water: Adversity. A person of integrity is prepared to give their life to fulfill their resolve.
Translation note: The Image uses the severe language of giving one's life to fulfill one's resolve. That ideal of devotion is retained in the translation; its modern application requires judgment about safety and responsibility.
A modern reading
A lake without water retains its shape while losing the resource that gives it life. Adversity describes that kind of depletion: the form of a situation may still be there while energy, support, or confidence has drained away. The Judgment's untrusted words add a further constraint. Explaining yourself may produce little response. The scene gives room to recognize the shortage itself and consider which commitments can still be sustained within it.
The Image answers deprivation with an extreme statement of resolve, even at the cost of life. Its severity makes the choice of purpose matter. Applied to ordinary decisions, it can prompt an honest account of what deserves your limited strength and what has become an exhausting attempt to preserve appearances. A commitment may survive through a smaller scope, outside help, or a pause. Choosing its essential part requires attention to the resources that remain.
A question to sit with
Which commitment still deserves your limited energy, and what would help you sustain it safely?
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