Hexagram 20 · Guan 觀
Look carefully before choosing your next step
Guan places Wind above Earth. Two unbroken lines stand at the top of four divided lines. Its classical text concerns both observing and being observed, with attention directed toward the quality of perception and conduct.
Short answer
Read Guan as a prompt to widen your view and examine the evidence before acting. Review your own part in the situation as carefully as what others are doing, and notice the example your actions set.
- Upper
- Xun · Wind
- Lower
- Kun · Earth
Pattern
Wind above Earth
- Chinese
- 觀
- Upper trigram
- Xun · Wind
- Lower trigram
- Kun · Earth
- Lines
- Yang at the fifth and sixth positions
Classical text
Bring sincere attention to what you see
觀：盥而不薦，有孚顒若。— Zhouyi, Hexagram 20
The judgment describes ritual washing before the offering, with sincerity and a reverent bearing. The Tuan commentary presents an example above that is observed below and speaks of teaching through it. Contemplation includes the attention brought to an act and the effect of that act on those who witness it.
The Image says “風行地上，觀；先王以省方，觀民設教”. The Image describes wind moving over the earth and early kings visiting regions, observing the people, and establishing teaching. Applied today, this can suggest learning from direct observation before deciding what is needed. The first two lines depict limited viewpoints; the third and fifth turn toward examining one’s own life, and the final line widens the view again. The practical questions here are modern applications of that reflective movement.
When it helps
Check the view from more than one position
Separate what you have directly observed from what you have assumed. Seek a relevant perspective you have not yet considered, then review how your own actions contribute to the pattern.
What to watch
Give reflection a useful question
Repeated observation can become a way to postpone a decision. Identify what you still need to learn and what evidence would be sufficient to choose the next step.
Questions for reflection
- What have I seen directly, and what am I assuming?
- How might this situation look from another position?
- What does my own conduct show, and what needs to change?
Read moving lines with the question and method of your own cast; this reference is not a complete reading. See how changing lines are displayed.
Sources
Check the original text
This page paraphrases the classical material and identifies its practical examples about perspective and self-review as modern interpretation.