明夷
Míng Yí — Darkening of the Light
upper trigram
坤Earth (Yielding)lower trigram
離Fire (Clinging)The Judgment
利艱貞。
Character-by-character gloss
Modern Interpretation
In adversity, persistence furthers. The sun sinks beneath the earth. A person of dark nature holds authority and harms the wise. Don't be swept along by unfavorable circumstances. Maintain inner light while remaining outwardly yielding. Hide your light to make your will prevail despite hostile environment. Perseverance dwells in inmost consciousness, invisible from without.
The Image
明入地中，明夷。君子以蒞眾，用晦而明。
Character-by-character gloss
Modern Interpretation
Light has sunk into the earth. Live among the masses: veil your light, yet still shine. Caution is essential. Don't awaken overwhelming enmity through inconsiderate behavior. Don't fall in with bad practices; don't censuriously expose them either. Let many things pass without being duped.
「明入地中，明夷。君子以蒞眾，用晦而明。」光進入地裡，君子藏起光芒卻依然發亮。黑暗的時代要謹慎。不要用輕率的行為招惹強大的敵意。不要跟著別人做壞事，也不要急著揭發他們。讓很多事情過去，但不要被騙。
The Six Lines
First (Bottom) Line
初九 明夷于飛。垂其翼。君子于行。三日不食。有攸往。主人有言。
Modern Interpretation
Darkening of the light during flight. Lowering wings. Going without food for three days on wanderings, but having somewhere to go. The host speaks ill of you. You retreat and evade, hurrying without permanent abode, remaining true to principles despite deprivation. Fixed goal, regardless of being misunderstood.
Second Line
六二 明夷。夷于左股。用拯馬壯吉。
Modern Interpretation
Wounded in the left thigh. Aid given with the strength of a horse. Good fortune. The injury is not fatal—only a hindrance. Give no thought to yourself; think only of saving others also in danger. Acting according to duty brings good fortune.
Third Line
九三 明夷于南狩。得其大首。不可疾貞。
Modern Interpretation
Darkening of the light during the hunt in the south. The great leader is captured. Victory achieved as if by chance—you seize the ringleader of disorder. But don't expect perseverance too soon. Abolishing long-standing abuses requires patience.
Fourth Line
六四 入于左腹。獲明夷之心。于出門庭。
Modern Interpretation
Penetrating the left side of the belly. You get at the very heart of the darkness and discover the secret thoughts. There is no hope of improvement. Leave the scene of disaster before the storm breaks.
Fifth Line
六五 箕子之明夷。利貞。
Modern Interpretation
Darkening of the light as with Prince Chi, who feigned insanity at the tyrant's court. He could not withdraw, so he concealed his true sentiments. Held as a slave but not deflected from convictions. For those who cannot leave their posts: invincible perseverance of spirit, redoubled caution.
Sixth (Top) Line
上六 不明晦。初登于天。後入于地。
Modern Interpretation
Not light but darkness. First climbing to heaven, then plunging into earth's depths. The dark power reaches its climax, wounding all who side with good and light. But evil must fall at the moment it has wholly overcome good—consuming the energy to which it owed its duration.
Yilin Verse
From the Forest of Changes (焦氏易林) — 明夷 Míng Yí (Darkening of the Light)
他山之儲，與璆為仇，來攻吾城，傷我肌膚，邦家騷憂。
The stores of another mountain; they make an enemy of fine jade. They come to assault our city, wounding our flesh and skin; the state and house are troubled and grieved.
Full explanation
Fire beneath the earth remains beneath the earth — Darkening of the Light unchanged, the source and target identical. 'Treasure from other mountains becomes an enemy of fine jade; they come to attack our city, wound our flesh, and the state trembles with grief.' When the transformation leads nowhere new, the condition intensifies. External wealth or foreign resources that should complement domestic treasure instead turn hostile. The image of a besieged city with wounded citizens echoes the hexagram's own text about Prince Ji's experience of internal tyranny. From Darkening of the Light to itself, no escape route opens. The only counsel is the hexagram's own: govern the multitude by 'using darkness to preserve light' — survival through deliberate concealment of one's true brilliance.
Masterpiece
A work of art reflecting this hexagram's essence
The Ghost of a Flea
William Blake, 1819
Blake claimed he saw this vision during a seance, painting a grotesque humanoid creature with muscular body, beast-like head, and tongue extended toward a bowl of blood. The figure emerges from darkness with threatening posture, embodying malevolent forces concealed from ordinary sight.
Wilhelm Commentary
Richard Wilhelm's classic translation and interpretation
The Judgment
One must not unresistingly let himself be swept along by unfavorable circumstances, nor permit his steadfastness to be shaken. He can avoid this by maintaining his inner light, while remaining outwardly yielding and tractable. With this attitude he can overcome even the greatest adversities. In some situations indeed a man must hide his light, in order to make his will prevail inspite of difficulties in his immediate environment. Perseverance must dwell in inmost consciousness and should not be discernible from without. Only thus is a man able to maintain his will in the face of difficulties.
The Image
In a time of darkness it is essential to be cautious and reserved. One should not needlessly awaken overwhelming enmity by inconsiderate behavior. In such times one ought not to fall in with the practices of others; neither should one drag them censoriously into the light. In social intercourse one should not try to be all-knowing. One should let many things pass, without being duped.
First (Bottom) Line
With grandiose resolve a man endeavors to soar above all obstacles, but thus encounters a hostile fate. He retreats and evades the issue. The time is difficult. Without rest, he must hurry along, with no permanent abiding place. If he does not want to make compromises within himself, but insists on remaining true to his principles, he suffers deprivation. Never the less he has a fixed goal to strive for even though the people with whom he lives do not understand him and speak ill of him.
Second Line
Here the Lord of Light is in a subordinate place and is wounded by the Lord of Darkness. But the injury is not fatal; it is only a hindrance. Rescue is still possible. The wounded man gives no thought to himself; he thinks only of saving the others who are also in danger. Therefore he tries with all his strength to save all that can be saved. There is good fortune in thus acting according to duty.
Third Line
It seems as if chance were at work. While the strong, loyal man is striving eagerly and in good faith to create order, he meets the ringleader of the disorder, as if by accident, and seizes him. Thus victory is achieved. But in abolishing abuses one must not be too hasty. This would turn out badly because the abuses have been in existence so long.
Fourth Line
We find ourselves close to the commander of darkness and so discover his mot secret thoughts. In this way we realize that there is no longer any hope of improvement, and thus we are enabled to leave the scene of disaster before the storm breaks.
Fifth Line
Prince Chi lived at the court of the evil tyrant Chou Hsin, who, although not mentioned by name, furnished the historical example on which this whole situation is based. Prince Chi was a relative of the tyrant and could not withdraw from the court; therefore he concealed his true sentiments and feigned insanity. Although he was held a slave, he did not allow external misery to deflect him from his convictions. This provides a teaching for those who cannot leave their posts in times of darkness. In order to escape danger, they need invincible perseverance of spirit and redoubled caution in their dealings with the world.
Sixth (Top) Line
Here the climax of the darkening is reached. The dark power at first held so high a place that it could wound all who were on the side of good and of the light. But in the end it perishes of its own darkness, for evil must itself fall at the very moment when it has wholly overcome the good, and thus consumed the energy to which it owed its duration.