Hexagram 49: Revolution
革Gé
Shedding the old coat.
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
革。 己日乃孚。元亨利貞。悔亡。
Our English rendering
Revolution. Only when the day of change arrives is trust established. Great success. It is favorable to remain steadfast. Regret disappears.
The Image
Classical Chinese
象曰：澤中有火，革。君子以治歷明時。
Our English rendering
Fire is within the lake: Revolution. A person of integrity puts the calendar in order and makes the seasons clear.
Translation note: The phrase rendered 'the day of change' is obscure. This version takes it as the day when change takes effect, while preserving the connection between timing and trust.
A modern reading
Fire within a lake puts two forces together whose contact changes the conditions around them. Revolution concerns a change substantial enough to alter the old arrangement. The Judgment connects trust with the day when that change arrives. A proposal may sound convincing before others have reason to accept it. A modern reading can consider what people will be able to observe when the change takes effect, and whether those observations justify their confidence.
The Image gives revolution the measured work of ordering a calendar. A calendar distinguishes times and helps people act together when a season changes. This directs attention to the timing and explanation of a major transition: when the old arrangement ends, when the new one begins, and what each stage requires. Making those boundaries legible can reduce avoidable confusion. Change becomes something people can orient themselves within, with expectations they can understand and test.
A question to sit with
What timing and visible evidence would help people understand and trust the change you are considering?
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