48 井 Jǐng The Well

This site's reading

卦辭 改邑不改井，无喪无得，往來井井。汔至亦未繘井。羸其瓶，凶: the town may be moved, the well is not; nothing lost, nothing gained; those who come and go draw from it. Almost there but the rope not yet to the water; the jug cracked: evil. The well is permanent; the failures are the drawer's.

彖 The commentary: entering the water and raising the water is the well; the well nourishes and is not exhausted. The town changes and the well does not because the firm is central. The rope that falls short has not yet achieved; the cracked jug is why it is evil.

大象 Water above wood: the noble person comforts the people and encourages them to help one another. The well is for everyone who comes.

爻 The lines: a muddy well no one drinks, an old well no bird visits; a well that leaks to the fish through a cracked jug; a well cleaned and not drunk, which pains the heart, it could be drawn, and if the king were wise all would share the blessing; the well lined, no blame; a clear well, cold spring, drink; and at the top the well drawn and uncovered, sincerity, greatly good. The lines are the well's repair, from mud to the uncovered mouth.

Written from the text above and checked against it by Lun (2026-10-24). It is a way of reading the hexagram, not a prediction.

The text, with Legge

Judgment 卦辭

The six lines

1. Line 1 初六

   井泥不食，舊井无禽。

   jǐng ní bù shí, jiù jǐng wú qín.

   The first line, divided, shows a well so muddy that men will not drink of it; or an old well to which neither birds (nor other creatures) resort. (Legge, 1882)

   The Image 小象

   井泥不食，下也。舊井无禽，時舍也。

   jǐng ní bù shí, xià yě. jiù jǐng wú qín, shí shě yě.

   Changing, this line leads to 5 需 Xū.

2. Line 2 九二

   井谷射鮒，瓮敝漏。

   jǐng gǔ shè fù, wèng bì lòu.

   The second line, undivided, shows a well from which by a hole the water escapes and flows away to the shrimps (and such small creatures among the grass), or one the water of which leaks away from a broken basket. (Legge, 1882)

   The Image 小象

   井谷射鮒，无與也。

   jǐng gǔ shè fù, wú yǔ yě.

   Changing, this line leads to 39 蹇 Jiǎn.

3. Line 3 九三

   井渫不食，為我心惻，可用汲，王明，並受其福。

   jǐng xiè bù shí, wèi wǒ xīn cè, kě yòng jí, wáng míng, bìng shòu qí fú.

   The third line, undivided, shows a well, which has been cleared out, but is not used. Our hearts are sorry for this, for the water might be drawn out and used. If the king were (only) intelligent, both he and we might receive the benefit of it. (Legge, 1882)

   The Image 小象

   井渫不食，行惻也。求王明，受福也。

   jǐng xiè bù shí, xíng cè yě. qiú wáng míng, shòu fú yě.

   Changing, this line leads to 29 坎 Kǎn.

4. Line 4 六四

   井甃，无咎。

   jǐng zhòu, wú jiù.

   The fourth line, divided, shows a well, the lining of which is well laid. There will be no error. (Legge, 1882)

   The Image 小象

   井甃无咎，修井也。

   jǐng zhòu wú jiù, xiū jǐng yě.

   Changing, this line leads to 28 大過 Dà Guò.

5. Line 5 九五

   井冽，寒泉食。

   jǐng liè, hán quán shí.

   The fifth line, undivided, shows a clear, limpid well, (the waters from) whose cold spring are (freely) drunk. (Legge, 1882)

   The Image 小象

   寒泉之食，中正也。

   hán quán zhī shí, zhōng zhèng yě.

   Changing, this line leads to 46 升 Shēng.

6. Line 6 上六

   井收勿幕，有孚元吉。

   jǐng shōu wù mù, yǒu fú yuán jí.

   The topmost line, divided, shows (the water from) the well brought to the top, which is not allowed to be covered. This suggests the idea of sincerity. There will be great good fortune. (Legge, 1882)

   The Image 小象

   元吉在上，大成也。

   yuán jí zài shàng, dà chéng yě.

   Changing, this line leads to 57 巽 Xùn.

Related hexagrams

• 47 困 Kùn, Hemmed In its pair in the King Wen sequence
• 38 睽 Kuí, Estrangement its nuclear hexagram 互卦, lines 2 to 4 under 3 to 5
• 21 噬嗑 Shì Kè, Chewing Through its opposite 錯卦, every line flipped
• 47 困 Kùn, Hemmed In its inverse 綜卦, the figure turned upside down

Where the name comes from

Legge's note (1882)

Legge's title for the hexagram: a well.

XLVIII. Ȝing, which gives its name to this hexagram, is the symbol of a well. The character originally was pictorial (FF), intended to represent a portion of land, divided into nine parts, the central portion belonging to the government, and being cultivated by the joint labour of the eight families settled on the other divisions. In the centre of it, moreover, was a well, which was the joint property of all the occupants. What is said on Ȝing might be styled ‘Moralisings on a well,’ or ‘Lessons to be learned from a well for the good order and government of a country.’ What a well is to those in its neighbourhood, and indeed to men in general, that is government to a people. If rulers would only rightly appreciate the principles of government handed down from the good ages of the past, and faithfully apply them to the regulation of the present, they would be blessed themselves and their people with them. In the Thwan we have the well, substantially the same through many changes of society; a sure source of dependance to men, for their refreshment and for use in their cultivation of the ground. Its form is what I have seen in the plains of northern China; what may be seen among ourselves in many places in Europe. It is deep, and the water is drawn up by a vessel let down from the top; and the value of the well depends on the water being actually raised. And so the principles of government must be actually carried out. Line 1, being weak, and at the very bottom of the figure, suggests, or is made to suggest, the symbolism of it. Many men in authority are like such a well; corrupt, useless, unregarded. Line 2 is strong, and might very well symbolise an active spring, ever feeding the well and, through it, the ground and its cultivators; but it is in an inappropriate place, and has no proper correlate. Its cool waters cannot be brought to the top. So important is it that the ministers of a country should be able and willing rightly to administer its government. In the account of the ancient Shun it is stated that he once saved his life by an opening in the lining of a well. Line 3 is a strong line, in its proper place; and must represent an able minister or officer. But though the well is clear, no use is made of it. I do not find anything in the figure that can be connected with this fact. The author was wise beyond his lines. After the first sentence of the paragraph, the duke of Kâu ceases from his function of making emblems; reflects and moralises. Line 4 is weak, but in its proper place. Its subject is not to be condemned, but neither is he to be praised. He takes care of himself, but does nothing for others. Line 5 is strong, and in its right place. The place is that of the ruler, and suggests the well, full of clear water, which is drawn up, and performs its useful work. Such is the good Head of government to his people. Line 6 is in its proper place, but weak. If the general idea of the figure was different, a bad auspice might be drawn from it. But here we see in it the symbol of the water drawn up, and the top uncovered so that the use of the well is free to all. Then the mention of ‘sincerity’ suggests the inexhaustibleness of the elemental supply.

Sources

• Chinese text: 周易, 維基文庫, page (revision 10645240); the text is public domain, the site's edits CC BY-SA 4.0.
• English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI, Oxford 1882 (public domain), where this hexagram is “Ȝing”.
• Glyph images: 小學堂 字形演變, Academia Sinica (CC0 1.0).
• Pinyin: Unihan (Unicode License v3) with this site's readings for the classical cases. English gloss, relations, the idiom glosses, the English of the chronicle passages and the plain reading: this site.