29 story

The image of hexagram 29
Xí Kăn, the sound of danger

Hexagram 29 has trigram Kăn both inside and outside. Water has no form in and of itself. It fills the openings it meets and takes their form, but doesn't stop there. It streams on and on along the path it finds, following gravity.

What does it mean, 'inner' and 'outer trigram' (popup)

When trigram Water is below (popup)

When trigram Water is above (popup)

Xi Kăn: repeated Kăn. Kăn-Kăn means “sounds produced by beating a drum, by chopping wood, and in complaining”. KănKăn is the thumping sound of danger, caused by and causing fear but it is also the repeated vibration of what is dependable. Water is always true to itself because of its lack of a form.

The ancient diviners gave this combination of trigrams a name: Xí Kăn, 'repeated pit'. Kăn is the deep dark place where things are born, the roots or basis, as yet unformed. Kăn is the teacher of the Way of Water: both how to overcome danger and how to halt or contain it. Kănkăn is the ‘sound’ of danger: a palpitating heart, drums, or an enemy in the dark.

  Ideogram of the hexagram name: Xí, the first (upper) character is a picture of wings (flying) and the sun: flap wings to test flight, repeated drills and studies, often, familiar and thorough, inertia (old or bad habits), not yet clear, people who are credible and kind. It is the endless act of repeating until one masters a skill or can do something by routine.
  The second character, Kăn, is a yawning person and a clod of earth. Yawning is emptying oneself: short of breath, empty, lack, owe, pit, practice, exercise, review, get accustomed to, habit, custom. A pit is made of empty space. Space can be filled, and water is the master-filler: it fills the space entirely, including every nook and cranny, not leaving anything empty and also adapting perfectly to its shape. Repeated: it is what happens when water flows on and on and encounters pit after pit: it fills one pit after the other, seeing any dangers ahead as challenges to be conquered.
  Kăn is also a sound. Kănkăn is the sound of hammering or percussion. In the face of danger, the heart "kănkăns". The enemy digging a tunnel under the walls can be detected by its 'kănkăn' sound. Everything which repeats itself is governed by Xí Kăn: vibrations, memories, patterns, habits, skills.
  When I asked Yi what Kan really was, I got hex.5 line 3: "Waiting in the mud. It will attract bandits." Mud dulls vibrations and makes you deaf to approaching danger.

The 'Great Image' says: Flowing waters reach the end: Repeated Pit. The noble one moves according to principles and virtue, he uses repeating to teach practice.
(The character 'reach' is water accumulating.)

  Hex.29 is the contrast of 30, which is about using or absorbing things in order to find light and knowledge.
  Hex.29 is adapting to things in order to find skill and wisdom.
  See "The patterns of hexagram 29"

The image of hexagram 29 Xí Kăn, the sound of danger

The image of hexagram 29
Xí Kăn, the sound of danger