Hexagram 48: Jing (The Well)

Hexagram 48 Meaning & Interpretation

In the received King Wen sequence of the Book of Changes (Zhouyi), Hexagram 48 — Jing (The Well) is the 48th six-line figure, formed by placing the upper trigram Water (Kan ☵) above the lower trigram Wind/Wood (Xun ☴). It forms a structural pair with Hexagram 47 (Kun, Oppression), contrasting their complementary stages of change across the sixty-four hexagrams.

The classical Judgment (gua ci) and the Great Image (da xiang) read the interaction between outer Water (Kan ☵) and inner Wind/Wood (Xun ☴) as an integrated pattern of timing and conduct. The Great Image states: "Water drawn from wood; nourish others endlessly with wisdom." In classical commentary, the Judgment names the macro climate sitting before you, while the Image describes how a discerning person (junzi) aligns daily posture with that climate before examining any individual moving lines.

Hexagram 48 Unchanging (No Changing Lines)

When all six positions come out settled — only 7s and 8s, with no moving 6 or 9 — the figure is a static hexagram (jing gua). According to Zhu Xi's rule in the Zhouyi Benyi, there is no relating figure and no moving line statement; the reading rests on the Judgment (gua ci) and the Great Image (da xiang) of Hexagram 48. Because Jing has no seventh all-moving statement, an unchanging cast directs attention to the enduring source beneath changing outer arrangements — and to the rope and bucket needed to reach it.

Structurally, Jing places Water (Kan, ☵) above Wind/Wood (Xun, ☴): a wooden bucket lowered beneath the water table to draw up clear spring water. The Judgment observes that towns may be moved, yet the well cannot be moved; it neither decreases nor increases, and people come and go drawing from the well. Then comes the classic warning: if you get almost to the water but the rope is too short, or you break the clay pitcher against the wall, nothing is drawn.

The Great Image translates the well into shared human care: "Water drawn from wood; nourish others endlessly with wisdom." A deep source helps no one if the rope and vessel are neglected.

• What is the unchanging well in your life or work right now? Identify the core craft, integrity, or shared need that remains constant even when surrounding plans shift.
• Is your rope long enough, and is your pitcher intact? Check whether impatience or sloppy execution is breaking the vessel right at the rim of the water.
• Does the well lining need maintenance? Even a pure spring turns muddy if its inner structure is never cleaned and relined.

Hexagram 48 in Love & Relationships

In questions of love and relationships, Hexagram 48 points to the deep, sustaining wellspring of a bond — the emotional trust, shared values, and daily care from which both partners drink. Inverting Hexagram 47 (Kun, Oppression), where water drained out from under the lake, Jing lowers Wood beneath Water to bring nourishment back up. When cast unchanging, it reminds you that while surface routines ("the town") may change, the core needs of the heart ("the well") remain constant — and it asks whether you are lowering the rope deep enough and treating the vessel gently enough to bring that care into daily life.

When individual lines move, the six positions rise from the muddy bottom of the well to its open, uncovered rim:

1. First position — Muddy well water that no one drinks; an old well where not even birds gather: When a relationship has been neglected, allowed to grow bitter, or left stagnant for too long, neither partner feels nourished by it.
2. Second position — Clear water in the well cavity, yet shooting at minnows with a leaky jug: The potential for real intimacy is right there, but energy is being wasted on petty grievances while a cracked habit ("a leaky pitcher") spills trust before it reaches the surface.
3. Third position — The well is dredged and clean, yet no one drinks from it: You have done the inner work and your heart is ready for honest connection, yet communication or timing has not yet allowed your partner to recognize and receive what you offer.
4. Fourth position — Relining the well stonework without fault: Taking a deliberate pause from outward demands to repair boundaries, heal old hurts, and strengthen the relationship's inner structure is wise maintenance, not failure.
5. Fifth position — A well with a cool, clear spring from which all may drink: Mutual trust and emotional maturity are clean, refreshing, and dependable — the relationship nourishes both people without strain.
6. Top position — The well drawn to the top and left uncovered with sincerity: Open-hearted generosity where nothing is hoarded or hidden; love becomes a shared refuge that stays full by staying open.

Questions to sit with:
- Are you tending the deep spring of this bond, or letting a "leaky jug" of impatience spill trust on the way up?
- Does the relationship currently need the quiet stonework repair of Line 4 before more demands are placed on it?
- How does maintaining this shared well prepare you for the seasonal renewal of Hexagram 49 (Ge)?

Hexagram 48 in Career & Decisions

Hexagram 48 (Jing) establishes the structural physics of foundational utility, unceasing nourishment, and immutable public infrastructure. Below sits Xun (the wooden bucket dipping deep into the subsoil); above flows Kan (the inexhaustible sweet aquifer). Civilizations move their municipal borders, empires fracture, and commercial trends evaporate ("The town may be changed"), yet the ancient sweet well anchored to the bedrock remains immutably in place ("But the well cannot be changed").

In corporate governance and macro-strategy, Jing governs the generation of irrevocable competitive advantage:
1. **The Principle of Perpetual Nourishment **: Sustainable wealth is not accumulated by chasing short-term speculative hype. It is harvested by engineering core platforms upon which the entire ecosystem relies daily for survival.
2. **The "Broken Pitcher" Risk Profile **: Drawing clear water from profound depths requires flawless operational diligence right until the rim. Dropping and shattering the bucket on the well mouth ("Breaking the pitcher brings difficulty") symbolizes terminal failure at the final 1% execution frontier.
3. **The Architecture of Strategic Maintenance **: When systems experience internal rot or technical debt, executive courage consists in suspending public traffic to reline the deep well walls with stone.

The Six Lines of Hexagram 48

1. Line 1 (Initial Yin): Mud in an Old Well.

jing ni bu shi, jiu jing wu qin — "the well is muddy and not drunk from; an old well that even birds do not visit."

At the very bottom of the well, water has given way to stagnant mud. A well exists only to nourish life; when it is neglected until it can neither slake human thirst nor draw passing birds to its rim, it has forgotten its own nature.

This line asks: what inner source of yours has grown silted over from long neglect?

2. Line 2 (Second Yang): Water Splashing on Small Fish.

jing gu she fu, weng bi lou — "the well cavity shoots water onto small fish; the pitcher is worn and leaking."

Line 2 is a strong line holding real spring water at the bottom of the shaft, yet instead of being drawn upward to the fifth place, its water seeps sideways onto minnows in the crevices while the clay pitcher leaks. Having good capacity is wasted when the vessel that carries it is cracked and the focus is turned downward.

This line asks: where is your best energy leaking out into small distractions because the vessel carrying it needs repair?

3. Line 3 (Third Yang): A Dredged Well Not Yet Drawn From.

jing xie bu shi, wei wo xin ce, ke yong ji, wang ming, bing shou qi fu — "the well is dredged clean but not drunk from, which grieves my heart; it can be drawn from; if the king is clear-sighted, all receive its blessing."

The silt has been cleared and the water is clean, yet because Line 3 still sits in the lower trigram below the rim, passersby have not yet lowered their rope. The sorrow named here belongs not to the well itself, which is already clear, but to the onlooker who sees good water waiting for clear-sighted recognition.

This line asks: if your work is already clean and sound, can you stay clear while waiting for it to be drawn upon?

4. Line 4 (Fourth Yin): Lining the Well with Stone.

jing zhou, wu jiu — "the well is lined with stone; no blame."

Entering the upper trigram just below the spring, this yielding line pauses drawing water in order to lay fresh masonry along the inner shaft. While a well is being relined with stone it cannot serve the village, yet keeping the walls from caving in is what keeps the water pure for years to come.

This line asks: what quiet structural repair do you need to pause and complete so the source stays clean?

5. Line 5 (Fifth Yang): A Clear, Cold Spring.

jing lie, han quan shi — "the well is clear and cold; a cool spring to drink from."

Centered in the upper water trigram above a freshly stone-lined shaft, the water here rises directly from a living subterranean vein: crisp, cold, and actively drunk by those who come. Stillness is not enough for a well; its fulfillment arrives when the pure water is actually tasted.

This line asks: is the clarity you have cultivated actually reaching and refreshing the people around you?

6. Line 6 (Top Yin): The Well Drawn From Without a Cover.

jing shou wu mu, you fu yuan ji — "the well is drawn from, do not cover it; there is trust, the most favorable outcome."

At the very top of the well where the windlass rope brings the bucket over the rim, the final instruction is simple: wu mu, do not put a lid over the mouth. A true spring is replenished by being drawn from, and leaving it open to all who come with bucket and rope completes the work of the entire figure.

This line asks: what wisdom or resource have you brought to the surface that should remain open rather than fenced in?

This figure carries no additional all-moving statement. When all six lines move, read the transformed figure.

Hexagram 48 FAQ