04 - Youthful Folly

Contemporary Interpretation

04 - Youthful Folly

Gain strength and let go.

We are rooted
In abysses,
On projections.
As our strength increases
We can let go.

[We can let go of those parts of our ancestral heritage which, during our journey, we have already fully integrated into our being and therefore do not need any longer.]

Follow the Path of the Dao: A Western Approximation

The Hexagram's Inner Trigrams

yang yin yin yin yang yin

Upper Trigram: Gen, Mountain

2nd Core Character: Kun, Earth

1st Core Character: Zhen, Thunder

Lower Trigram: Kan, Water

The Hexagram's Inner Trigrams in the Context of Yin and Yang

The hexagram's inner trigrams within the fields of Yin and Yang

Changes and Impulses

Additional Resources

You can also open this content in a separate window: Exemplary Experiences

Youthful folly (04) means to be first confused and then to become clear.

The image

A source springs up from underneath the mountain: the image of youth. Thus the superior man nourishes his character through thoroughgoing action.

The judgement

Youthful folly has success. I am not seeing the young fool, the young fool seeks me. At the first oracle, I give advice. If he asks two, three times, then that is annoyance. If he annoys, I give no advice. Perseverance furthers. Full text of Richard Wilhelm's 1924 translation by Cary F. Baynes