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Hexagram 4 — Qian, Modesty
Chronological no. 4 (binary-weight order) · King Wen no. (traditional) 15 · 謙
By Anibal Edelberto Amiot — Updated October 1, 2026
the mother
the youngest son
Within the Earth stands the mountain: the image of modesty. What is highest here allows itself to be contained by what surrounds it, never seeking to dominate the landscape by height alone. This is the figure of greatness that effaces itself willingly. Thus the noble one reduces what is excessive and increases what is lacking, weighing all things with equity: modesty is not smallness, it is strength secure enough in itself that it need not show itself.
Self-effacement nourishes the transmutation within the crucible. Nothing truly transforms without some part of the self consenting to dissolve in the process. This line says that humility is not a passive virtue: it is the active condition of all deep transformation, the crucible where the old dissolves so the new may take shape.
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, emptiness fills: the suppleness that governed with discretion gathers a new force.
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
3 — Lin, Approach · 5 — Ming Yi, Darkening of the Light
Hexagrams sharing a trigram
Same upper trigram (☷ Kun): 0 — Kun, The Receptive · 1 — Fu, Return · 2 — Shi, The Army · 3 — Lin, Approach · 5 — Ming Yi, Darkening of the Light · 6 — Sheng, Pushing Upward · 7 — Tai, Peace
Same lower trigram (☶ Gen): 12 — Xiao Guo, Preponderance of the Small · 20 — Jian, Obstruction · 28 — Xian, Influence · 36 — Gen, Keeping Still · 44 — Lu, The Wanderer · 52 — Jian, Development · 60 — Dun, Retreat
