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Hexagram 20 — Jian, Obstruction
Chronological no. 20 (binary-weight order) · King Wen no. (traditional) 39 · 蹇
By Anibal Edelberto Amiot — Updated October 1, 2026
the middle son
the youngest son
On the mountain, Water: the image of obstruction. Water meets the slope and cannot advance directly — it must go around, seek another path, slow its natural course. This is the figure of difficulty that imposes a detour. Thus the noble one turns back upon himself and shapes his own virtue: when the outer obstacle cannot be forced, it becomes the occasion to work on what, within, can still grow.
Patience itself becomes a shield against the terrain. Facing what cannot be crossed head-on, patience is not resignation but an active protection — it preserves energy for the moment when the passage will open. This line says every obstacle holds, in outline, the indication of the right detour.
The six lines
At the base of the earth, emptiness closes over: what was still an opening begins to fill.
The receptive earth reaches its fullness: the silent welcome that carried the lower figure is about to assert itself.
At the threshold between earth and man, force wavers: what acted through firmness hesitates before turning.
In the listening of man, the hollow fills: the openness that received is about to assert itself.
At the sage's seat, fullness hollows out: the force that governed the figure from its center is about to invert.
At the summit, emptiness reaches its fullest extent and closes: the furthest opening turns toward its opposite.
Source: La Livrée d'Hermès, Anibal Amiot — chapter 7.1 (pp. 63–68). French version of this page.
For the notions used here — magic square, layer and casting, the Yi Jing — see the project lexicon.
The patterns of this hexagram
Eight 12×12 Jacquard patterns are generated from this hexagram, one for each admissible family of the system. Each has its own page: cell, tiling, recolourings and data.
Bases — YANG mutant
Bases — YANG
Pair of two — YANG + YIN mutant
Pair of two — YIN mutant + YANG mutant
Pair of two — YIN + YANG
Pair of two — YIN + YANG mutant
Triple — without YANG
Triple — without YANG mutant
Neighbouring hexagrams
19 — Jie, Limitation · 21 — Ji Ji, After Completion
Hexagrams sharing a trigram
Same upper trigram (☵ Kan): 16 — Bi, Holding Together · 17 — Zhun, Difficulty at the Beginning · 18 — Kan, The Abysmal · 19 — Jie, Limitation · 21 — Ji Ji, After Completion · 22 — Jing, The Well · 23 — Xu, Waiting
Same lower trigram (☶ Gen): 4 — Qian, Modesty · 12 — Xiao Guo, Preponderance of the Small · 28 — Xian, Influence · 36 — Gen, Keeping Still · 44 — Lu, The Wanderer · 52 — Jian, Development · 60 — Dun, Retreat
