Hexagram of the Day Saturday, January 10, 2026: #48 The Well (井)

Sang is pronounced with falling tone (sang); qi is pronounced qi; ju is pronounced ju; lei is pronounced lei. A well is a place where the earth is hollowed out to yield water. Xun wood enters beneath Kan water and brings the water upward; hence it is The Well.

'The town may be changed, but the well cannot be changed': thus there is neither loss nor gain, and those who come and go drink from the well. 'Almost' means nearly. 'Rope' means well-rope. 'Ruined' means broken.

If, when drawing from the well, the water is almost reached before the rope is fully drawn and one breaks the pitcher, it brings misfortune.

Its divination indicates that affairs remain as of old without gain or loss, yet one must be reverent and diligent, not allowing failure when near completion.

Shang is pronounced as a rising tone. The hexagram images explain the name and meaning of the hexagram. The hexagram structure explains the judgment.

The two phrases 'neither loss nor gain' and 'they come and go, drinking from the well' share the same meaning as 'the well cannot be changed,' hence they are not repeated. Firmness and centrality refer to lines Two and Five.

Breaking the pitcher before achieving success is why it brings misfortune.

Shang is read normally, and also with rising tone; lao is read in falling tone; xiang is read in falling tone. Water above wood, moisture rising upward: this is the image of The Well.

Encouraging the people means the ruler nourishes the people; exhorting them to mutual aid means causing the people to nourish one another: both take their meaning from the well's nourishment.

The Well in the Order of the Hexagrams: 'One who suffers oppression above must return below; hence The Well follows.'

Following the idea that pushing upward without cease inevitably brings oppression, it means when upward striving is exhausted in oppression, one must return downward. Among things below, none is like a well; hence The Well succeeds Oppression.

As a hexagram, Kan is above and Xun is below. Kan is water; the image of Xun is wood, and the meaning of Xun is entering. It is the image of a wooden vessel: wood entering beneath water to draw water upward is the image of drawing from a well.

The nature of a well is constant and cannot be altered. A town may be moved elsewhere, but a well cannot be relocated; hence: 'the town may be changed, but the well cannot be changed.'

Drawing from it does not exhaust it, leaving it does not overfill it: 'there is neither loss nor gain.' All who arrive obtain its use: 'they come and go, drinking from the well.'

'Neither loss nor gain' is the constancy of its virtue; 'they come and go, drinking from the well' is the universality of its use. Constant and universal: this is the Dao of the Well. 'Almost' means nearly; 'rope' means well-rope.

The merit of a well lies in providing for use; if water is almost reached but not yet put to use, it is the same as not having lowered the rope into the well.

The way of the noble person values completion; thus, if the five grains do not ripen, they are inferior to tares and weeds; digging a well nine fathoms deep without reaching the spring is still an abandoned well.

To possess the utility of aiding things without yet reaching them is like having none at all. Breaking the pitcher and losing it causes its utility to perish; hence it is disastrous. 'Ruined' means broken and ruined.

Xun entering beneath the water and drawing up the water is The Well. The well's nourishment of things knows no exhaustion; drawing from it does not deplete it: its virtue is constant. A town may be changed, but a well cannot be relocated: this too is the constancy of its virtue.

The virtue of firmness and centrality in lines Two and Five possesses such constancy; the talents and meaning of the hexagram harmonize. Even if almost reached, since it has not yet been put to use, it is the same as not having lowered the rope into the well.

The well takes relief of need as its merit; when water comes forth it is useful, but if not yet out, what merit is there? The pitcher is that which brings up water to serve its purpose; breaking the pitcher prevents its use, and hence it is disastrous.

Wood supporting water and raising it upward is the image of a vessel drawing water from a well. The noble person observes the image of The Well and models himself on its virtue to encourage and comfort the people, and to exhort and urge them in the way of mutual aid.

Encouraging and comforting the people models the use of the well; urging the people to mutual aid models the bestowal of the well.

The well is that which takes changelessness as its virtue. Its virtue has constancy. It does not alter or change.

Pronounced with a rising tone. 'The town may be changed, but the well cannot be changed' is due to firmness and centrality. Dwelling in the center with firmness, it can remain settled in its place without changing. The well takes completion as its merit.

'Water over wood' is the image of The Well. Raising water to nourish, nourishing without exhaustion. Xiang means to aid. In encouraging the people and exhorting mutual aid, nothing surpasses nourishing without exhaustion.

The Sub-commentary states: 'The Well' is the name of an object's image. In ancient times, earth was hollowed out to obtain water, and jars were used to draw it up; this was called a well.

This hexagram clarifies that the noble person cultivates virtue to nourish the people, constant and unchanging from beginning to end, nourishing things without exhaustion—nothing surpasses the well in this; hence this hexagram of virtue cultivation is metaphorically named 'The Well.'

As for 'the town may be changed, but the well cannot be changed,' the following explains that the well possesses constant virtue, while this explains that the physical well is constant: though towns may be relocated, the physical well does not change; hence it is said: 'the town may be changed, but the well cannot be changed.'

The Sub-commentary states: This clarifies that the use of the well has constant virtue; drawing from it all day, none ever speaks of decrease; springs pouring in all day, none ever speaks of increase; hence: 'neither loss nor gain.'

The Sub-commentary states: This clarifies the constancy of its nature. 'Well upon well' describes a clean and pure appearance.

Those who come and go are all made clean and pure; the well does not alter its cleansing nature because of the coming and going of people; hence: 'they come and go, drinking from the well.'

The Sub-commentary states: The text below gives the admonition of the well, showing that the well's work is difficult to accomplish. 'Almost' means nearly; 'nearly' means close. 'Rope' means well-rope.

Though water is drawn up toward the well-mouth, the rope has not yet cleared the opening when the pitcher is snagged and overturned. Abandoning work on the verge of completion, though there was the labor of drawing from the well, is no different from never having drawn at all.

This illustrates that when people practice constant virtue today, they must make a good beginning and a fine end.

If there is a beginning but no end, it inevitably invites misfortune; hence: 'it almost reaches, but the rope has not yet cleared the well; breaking the pitcher brings misfortune.' Saying 'almost' expresses contingency, meaning one does not necessarily fail to finish.

Merely losing a pitcher of water—how could it be called misfortune? It serves as a metaphor for failing to accomplish virtue, or for inconstant conduct that cannot sustain caution to the end; hence misfortune is spoken of with regard to human affairs.

From 'The Commentary on the Decision says' to 'water is The Well.' The Sub-commentary states: This explains the name and meaning of The Well through the two trigrams. In this hexagram, Kan is water above and Xun is wood below; Xun also means entering.

Using wood to enter water and raise water upward is the image of The Well. On the note 'pronounced with a rising tone': fearing it might be read in the falling tone, the pronunciation is marked.

The Sub-commentary states: As for 'the well nourishes without exhaustion,' it praises the virtue of the well: the more it is drawn, the more it springs forth, providing nourishment to people without end.

As for 'the town may be changed, but the well cannot be changed, through firmness and centrality,' this explains that the physical well's constancy stems from lines Two and Five.

Lines Two and Five dwell in the center with firmness, and thus can remain settled in their places without changing.

The two virtues of 'coming and going' are not explained because 'neither loss nor gain' and 'they come and go, drinking from the well' both stem from this firm dwelling in the center with no other meaning; hence the classic text is not fully cited.

The Sub-commentary states: If water is not yet put to use, the well's work is not accomplished, just as human virtue and affairs extending to things remain incomplete.

The Sub-commentary states: Overturning the water before it is drawn out symbolizes abandoning the cultivation of virtue before completion, which is why it brings misfortune.

The Sub-commentary states: 'Water over wood' is the image of raising water, which constitutes The Well. As for 'the noble person thereby encourages the people and exhorts mutual aid,' 'encourage' means to reward and comfort, and 'aid' means to help.

The meaning of the well is to draw and nourish without exhaustion; the noble person, through comforting favor, diligently tends to the people's hardships and encourages them to help one another to achieve success; this is nourishing without exhaustion.