Hexagram 6 · Song 訟
Conflict needs a stopping point
Song places Heaven above Water. Their movements diverge, forming a classical image of dispute. Even when your position is sincere, a disagreement can become costly if winning replaces resolution.
Short answer
Read Song as a reason to clarify the issue, stay alert, and look for a fair way to stop. The text favors a measured middle course and warns against carrying a dispute to its bitter end.
- Upper
- Qian · Heaven
- Lower
- Kan · Water
Pattern
Heaven above Water
- Chinese
- 訟
- Upper trigram
- Qian · Heaven
- Lower trigram
- Kan · Water
- Lines
- Three yang above · Water below
Classical text
Do not let a dispute become the whole journey
訟：有孚，窒，惕，中吉，終凶。利見大人，不利涉大川。— Zhouyi, Hexagram 6
The judgment acknowledges a sincere claim meeting obstruction. Caution and a middle course may help; pursuing the dispute to its end is marked as harmful. Its advice to seek a “great person” points toward capable, impartial judgment, not a guarantee of victory or a substitute for advice in an actual legal matter.
The Image says “天與水違行，訟；君子以作事謀始”: heaven and water move apart, and the exemplary person plans at the start of an undertaking. Clear terms and expectations can prevent a future argument. The warning against crossing a great river cautions against enlarging the risk while conflict is unresolved.
When it helps
Separate the issue from the contest
What fact is disputed? Which outcome would resolve the underlying problem, and who could help both sides assess it fairly?
What to watch
Principle can turn into escalation
A sound point does not make every tactic wise. Notice when the cost of prolonging the argument starts to exceed the value of settling it.
Questions for reflection
- What am I trying to protect or resolve?
- What would a fair stopping point look like?
- Which expectation should have been made clear earlier?
A particular cast needs its question and moving lines. This general meaning does not settle a real dispute. See the guide to changing lines.
Sources
Check the original text
This page paraphrases the classical material and distinguishes its modern analogy from the source text.