39 - Obstruction

Contemporary Interpretation

39 - Obstruction

Disengage.
Observe.
Solve.

How to swallow
What you cannot swallow?
Don't swallow it!
Disengage.
And then,
Following your own intuition,
Firstly consider the matter
from a
[By your standards]
Exotic point of view
And then
Solve
It.

Follow the Path of the Dao: A Western Approximation

The Hexagram's Inner Trigrams

yin yang yin yang yin yin

Upper Trigram: Kan, Water

2nd Core Character: Li, Fire

1st Core Character: Kan, Water

Lower Trigram: Gen, Mountain

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

Obstruction (39) signifies difficulty.

The image

Water on top of the mountain: the image of obstruction. Thus the superior man turns towards himself and fosters his own character.

The judgement

Obstruction. The south west furthers. The north east does not further. It furthers one to see the great man. Perseverance brings good fortune. Full text of Richard Wilhelm's 1924 translation by Cary F. Baynes