The 64 Hexagrams of the I Ching
Every hexagram of the Book of Changes, listed in the traditional King Wen sequence. Each entry gives the structure of the figure — its number, trigrams and line pattern — together with the original Chinese statement and a plain-language reading.
All sixty-four, in King Wen order
- Hexagram 1: Qian ䷀Heaven over Heaven — Qian over Qian
- Hexagram 2: Kun ䷁Earth over Earth — Kun over Kun
- Hexagram 3: Zhun ䷂Water over Thunder — Kan over Zhen
- Hexagram 4: Meng ䷃Mountain over Water — Gen over Kan
- Hexagram 5: Xu ䷄Water over Heaven — Kan over Qian
- Hexagram 6: Song ䷅Heaven over Water — Qian over Kan
- Hexagram 7: Shi ䷆Earth over Water — Kun over Kan
- Hexagram 8: Bi ䷇Water over Earth — Kan over Kun
- Hexagram 9: Xiao Xu ䷈Wind over Heaven — Xun over Qian
- Hexagram 10: Lv ䷉Heaven over Lake — Qian over Dui
- Hexagram 11: Tai ䷊Earth over Heaven — Kun over Qian
- Hexagram 12: Pi ䷋Heaven over Earth — Qian over Kun
- Hexagram 13: Tong Ren ䷌Heaven over Fire — Qian over Li
- Hexagram 14: Da You ䷍Fire over Heaven — Li over Qian
- Hexagram 15: Qian ䷎Earth over Mountain — Kun over Gen
- Hexagram 16: Yu ䷏Thunder over Earth — Zhen over Kun
- Hexagram 17: Sui ䷐Lake over Thunder — Dui over Zhen
- Hexagram 18: Gu ䷑Mountain over Wind — Gen over Xun
- Hexagram 19: Lin ䷒Earth over Lake — Kun over Dui
- Hexagram 20: Guan ䷓Wind over Earth — Xun over Kun
- Hexagram 21: Shi Ke ䷔Fire over Thunder — Li over Zhen
- Hexagram 22: Bi ䷕Mountain over Fire — Gen over Li
- Hexagram 23: Bo ䷖Mountain over Earth — Gen over Kun
- Hexagram 24: Fu ䷗Earth over Thunder — Kun over Zhen
- Hexagram 25: Wu Wang ䷘Heaven over Thunder — Qian over Zhen
- Hexagram 26: Da Xu ䷙Mountain over Heaven — Gen over Qian
- Hexagram 27: Yi ䷚Mountain over Thunder — Gen over Zhen
- Hexagram 28: Da Guo ䷛Lake over Wind — Dui over Xun
- Hexagram 29: Kan ䷜Water over Water — Kan over Kan
- Hexagram 30: Li ䷝Fire over Fire — Li over Li
- Hexagram 31: Xian ䷞Lake over Mountain — Dui over Gen
- Hexagram 32: Heng ䷟Thunder over Wind — Zhen over Xun
- Hexagram 33: Dun ䷠Heaven over Mountain — Qian over Gen
- Hexagram 34: Da Zhuang ䷡Thunder over Heaven — Zhen over Qian
- Hexagram 35: Jin ䷢Fire over Earth — Li over Kun
- Hexagram 36: Ming Yi ䷣Earth over Fire — Kun over Li
- Hexagram 37: Jia Ren ䷤Wind over Fire — Xun over Li
- Hexagram 38: Kui ䷥Fire over Lake — Li over Dui
- Hexagram 39: Jian ䷦Water over Mountain — Kan over Gen
- Hexagram 40: Xie ䷧Thunder over Water — Zhen over Kan
- Hexagram 41: Sun ䷨Mountain over Lake — Gen over Dui
- Hexagram 42: Yi ䷩Wind over Thunder — Xun over Zhen
- Hexagram 43: Guai ䷪Lake over Heaven — Dui over Qian
- Hexagram 44: Gou ䷫Heaven over Wind — Qian over Xun
- Hexagram 45: Cui ䷬Lake over Earth — Dui over Kun
- Hexagram 46: Sheng ䷭Earth over Wind — Kun over Xun
- Hexagram 47: Kun ䷮Lake over Water — Dui over Kan
- Hexagram 48: Jing ䷯Water over Wind — Kan over Xun
- Hexagram 49: Ge ䷰Lake over Fire — Dui over Li
- Hexagram 50: Ding ䷱Fire over Wind — Li over Xun
- Hexagram 51: Zhen ䷲Thunder over Thunder — Zhen over Zhen
- Hexagram 52: Gen ䷳Mountain over Mountain — Gen over Gen
- Hexagram 53: Jian ䷴Wind over Mountain — Xun over Gen
- Hexagram 54: Gui Mei ䷵Thunder over Lake — Zhen over Dui
- Hexagram 55: Feng ䷶Thunder over Fire — Zhen over Li
- Hexagram 56: Lv ䷷Fire over Mountain — Li over Gen
- Hexagram 57: Xun ䷸Wind over Wind — Xun over Xun
- Hexagram 58: Dui ䷹Lake over Lake — Dui over Dui
- Hexagram 59: Huan ䷺Wind over Water — Xun over Kan
- Hexagram 60: Jie ䷻Water over Lake — Kan over Dui
- Hexagram 61: Zhong Fu ䷼Wind over Lake — Xun over Dui
- Hexagram 62: Xiao Guo ䷽Thunder over Mountain — Zhen over Gen
- Hexagram 63: Ji Ji ䷾Water over Fire — Kan over Li
- Hexagram 64: Wei Ji ䷿Fire over Water — Li over Kan
What the sixty-four hexagrams are
The eight trigrams — Qian, Dui, Li, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen and Kun — are stacked in pairs, one above the other. That gives 8x8 = 64 figures, each built from six lines read from the bottom upwards. These are the hexagrams, and they form the body of the I Ching.
Every hexagram carries a name and a statement, and each of its six lines carries a line text. Together with the two extra texts attached to hexagrams 1 and 2, that is the whole of the classic.
The King Wen sequence
The traditional order runs from Qian and Kun to Ji Ji and Wei Ji. Hexagrams mostly come in pairs: usually the second is the first turned upside down, and where a figure is unchanged by that inversion it is paired instead with the hexagram whose lines are all reversed.
The numbering used throughout this site is that sequence, so hexagram 23 here is hexagram 23 in any standard edition.
Reading the trigrams
The lower three lines form the inner trigram, the upper three the outer. Chinese hexagram names often name both, outer first: Shui Lei Zhun is Kan (water) over Zhen (thunder).
Line positions are counted upwards and named for their type: a yang line in the bottom position is the "nine at the beginning", a yin line in the top position the "six at the top".
Statement, line texts and commentary
The statement judges the hexagram as a whole; the line texts judge particular situations within it. Both belong to the oldest layer of the text.
The Tuan and Xiang commentaries came later and explain the statement, the image and each line in turn. This site keeps the classic and its commentaries in separate sections rather than blending them.
A note on what is translated here
The structural facts on these pages — sequence number, trigrams, line pattern, related hexagrams — carry across languages unchanged. The statements are given in the original Chinese.
The classical Chinese commentaries have not been translated, and machine translations of them are deliberately not published here. The English readings on each page were written for this site, not translated from the Chinese entries.