# Hexagram 47: Oppression

Canonical page: https://thefreeiching.com/library/47
Last updated: 2026-10-07

```
━━━  ━━━
━━━━━━━
━━━━━━━
━━━  ━━━
━━━━━━━
━━━  ━━━
```

- **Upper trigram:** [Dui 兌](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/dui), Lake, the joyous, open
- **Lower trigram:** [Kan 坎](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/kan), Water, the abysmal, danger
- **Lines, bottom to top:** 010110 (1 = solid yang, 0 = broken yin)

## Contemporary judgment

Oppression. Exhaustion. Resources and support feel cut off; you are drained at a level that ordinary rest does not touch. This is a test of inner faith rather than outer strategy. Speak less, strive less, and rely on a quiet source within that does not depend on outer circumstances.

## Image

The lake with no water. The superior person stakes their life on following their will to the last.

## Counsel

Do not add more to your load. Do not seek approval that this moment cannot give. Simplify ruthlessly; protect your essential energy. Keep faith with your deepest commitments even when everything outer seems to contradict them. This is a passage, and you will cross it.

## The six lines

*Numbered from the bottom upward. These line texts are read when that line is changing in a cast.*

### Line 1

> A six at the beginning means:
> One sits oppressed under a bare tree
> and comes into a dark valley.
> For three years one sees nothing.

### Line 2

> A nine in the second place means:
> One is oppressed at wine and food.
> The man with the scarlet knee-bands is just arriving.
> It is favorable to bring sacrifices.
> To set out brings misfortune.
> No blame.

### Line 3

> A six in the third place means:
> One lets oneself be oppressed by stone
> and leans on thorns and thistles.
> One enters one's house and does not see one's wife. Misfortune!

### Line 4

> A nine in the fourth place means:
> He comes quite softly, oppressed in a golden wagon.
> Humiliation, but one comes to an end.

### Line 5

> A nine in the fifth place means:
> They cut off his nose and feet.
> One is oppressed by the one in purple knee-bands.
> Joy comes softly.
> It is favorable to bring offerings and gifts.

### Line 6

> A six at the top means:
> He is oppressed by creeping vines.
> He moves uncertainly and says:
> Movement creates remorse.
> If one feels remorse over this and sets out,
> one has good fortune.

## Related hexagrams

- **Nuclear (lines 2 to 5):** [37 The Family](https://thefreeiching.com/library/37)
- **Inverse (turned upside down):** [48 The Well](https://thefreeiching.com/library/48)
- **Opposite (every line flipped):** [22 Grace](https://thefreeiching.com/library/22)

## If one line changes

| Changing line | Relating hexagram |
| --- | --- |
| Line 1 | [58 The Joyous](https://thefreeiching.com/library/58) |
| Line 2 | [45 Gathering Together](https://thefreeiching.com/library/45) |
| Line 3 | [28 Great Preponderance](https://thefreeiching.com/library/28) |
| Line 4 | [29 The Abysmal](https://thefreeiching.com/library/29) |
| Line 5 | [40 Deliverance](https://thefreeiching.com/library/40) |
| Line 6 | [6 Conflict](https://thefreeiching.com/library/6) |

Previous: [46 Pushing Upward](https://thefreeiching.com/library/46). Next: [48 The Well](https://thefreeiching.com/library/48). [All sixty-four hexagrams](https://thefreeiching.com/library).

*The judgment, image and counsel are original contemporary paraphrases written for The Free I Ching. The line text is the CC0 translation from [jesshewitt/i-ching](https://github.com/jesshewitt/i-ching), derived from Richard Wilhelm's 1924 German edition.*

## Cite this page

The Free I Ching. "Hexagram 47: Oppression." https://thefreeiching.com/library/47 (updated 2026-10-07).

*The I Ching is a tool for reflection, not a prediction. Nothing here forecasts events or replaces professional advice. Short quotations with a link back are welcome. Please do not republish a page in full. The open data files at [/data](https://thefreeiching.com/data) are licensed CC BY 4.0.*

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Source: The Free I Ching (https://thefreeiching.com/library/47). The I Ching is a tool for reflection, not a prediction. Nothing here forecasts events or replaces professional advice.