| Name | 谦 Qiān, “Modesty” |
|---|---|
| Upper trigram | ☷ 坤 Earth: receptivity and support |
| Lower trigram | ☶ 艮 Mountain: stillness and limits |
The Judgment
亨，君子有终。
Success. The wise carry things through.
Stay humble, finish what you started. Modesty isn't weakness — it's how things actually get done.
The Image
地中有山，谦；君子以裒多益寡，称物平施。
A mountain within the earth — Modesty. The wise reduce the excessive and add to the meager, balancing the world.
Real modesty is active — quietly leveling the playing field. Take less where you have more, give more where it's short.
The six lines
If a line changes in your cast, read its text below. Lines are numbered from the bottom.
Line 1 · first (bottom) · Yin
谦谦君子，用涉大川，吉。
Modest, modest noble one. Cross the great water — fortune.
Twice-humble means proven humble. With that base, even the big leap works.
Line 2 · second · Yin
鸣谦，贞吉。
Modesty that shows. Stay true — fortune.
Your humility is visible without being performed. People see it and trust it.
Line 3 · third · Yang
劳谦，君子有终，吉。
A worker who is modest. The noble one carries it through — fortune.
You put in the work and don't make it about yourself. Quiet effort wins long-term.
Line 4 · fourth · Yin
无不利，撝谦。
Nothing that does not benefit from modesty.
There's no situation here where being humble doesn't help. Lean into it.
Line 5 · fifth · Yin
不富以其邻，利用侵伐，无不利。
Not boasting of wealth — with the neighbor. Wise to strike forcefully. Nothing fails.
You don't flex on those close to you. But when action's needed, you act decisively. Both at once.
Line 6 · top · Yin
鸣谦，利用行师，征邑国。
Modesty that shows. Wise to mobilize armies and discipline one's own city.
Even gentle people sometimes need to set hard boundaries — especially with their own. Modesty doesn't mean soft.
Related hexagrams
- Inverted (turned upside down): Hexagram 16, Enthusiasm
- Complement (every line reversed): Hexagram 10, Treading