In love
Attention dominates: look at what is really happening, listen more than you speak, stay consistent in your gestures.
Hexagram 20
I Ching hexagram 20: Contemplation (Guan)
Guan, Contemplation, is the hexagram of the attentive gaze: observe with composure, and show yourself by example.
- observation
- composure
- example
The essentials
Guan at a glance
For you, Guan invites you to step back: look, understand, and let your own conduct inspire, rather than persuade.
A strength
The quality of attention of someone who observes without rushing, and whose example is worth more than speeches.
Something to watch
Settling for observing: a gaze without action becomes a spectacle, and the example is lost for lack of conduct.
- What it advises
- Take the time to observe with composure, look at yourself, and let your example speak.
- Its opposite
- 34. The Power of the Great (Da zhuang)
The situation
Guan means both looking and being seen. Two solid lines, at the very top, dominate four broken lines: like a tower over the plain, from which you see and are seen. The ancient text compares the scene to the moment after the washing of hands in a rite, before the offering: sincere, composed, it commands respect.
The hexagram speaks of the quality of the gaze: seeing near or far, seeing others or yourself. Observing your own path, looking at what you do, is as important an act as looking at the world.
It suggests that authority comes from example, more than from words.
The image: Wind above Earth
- AboveWind: gentleness that penetrates
- BelowEarth: the welcome that carries
Wind above Earth: it passes everywhere and touches everything. The commentaries recall the sovereigns of old who traveled the regions, observed their people, and passed on teaching to them.
Consult the I Ching
Throw three coins six times: your hexagram, the lines that change, and the direction they point to.
Free, no account · nothing is sent · no predictions
The six lines
- 1st line (bottom) · brokenA child’s gaze: of no consequence for humble people, but regrettable for the person of worth who should see farther.
- 2nd line · brokenLooking through the crack of a door: a narrow viewpoint, fitting for reserve, but short for a person who aims higher.
- 3rd line · brokenObserving your own course to decide whether to advance or retreat: the gaze turned toward yourself serves as a compass.
- 4th line · brokenContemplating the splendor of the kingdom: it is favorable to seek to be welcomed there as the sovereign’s guest.
- 5th line · solidObserving your own path, as a person of worth: because you examine yourself, you do not go astray.
- 6th line (top) · solidObserving, by looking at what you have become: because your conduct is upright, you do not go astray.
Guan in your life
At work
Observing and analyzing before acting is favored: study the ground, understand, then lead by example rather than command.
The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.
How is it built?
- Character
- 觀 (guān)
- Number
- 20 in the King Wen sequence
- Trigrams
- Wind (巽) above, Earth (坤) below
- Inner hexagram
- 23. Splitting Apart (Bo) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
- Read upside down
- 19. Approach (Lin)
- Symbol
- ䷓ (U+4DD3)
The English names are the usual renderings of the Chinese characters; the texts rely on the Chinese and on early public-domain translations (Legge, 1882; Philastre, 1885–1893).
Sources
- Wikipedia (English), “List of hexagrams of the I Ching,” read on October 15, 2026: numbers, characters, pinyin, lower and upper trigrams.
- Wikipedia (English), “Bagua,” read on October 15, 2026: lines of the eight trigrams, from bottom to top.
- James Legge (1815–1897), The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East, vol. XVI, 1882 (Wikisource): public domain.
- Paul-Louis-Félix Philastre (1837–1902), Le Yi King ou Livre des changements de la dynastie des Tsheou, Annales du Musée Guimet, 1885–1893: public domain (the author died more than 70 years ago).
Frequently asked questions about hexagram 20
What does hexagram 20 of the I Ching mean?
Hexagram 20, Guan, means contemplation: observing with composure and showing yourself by example, rather than trying to persuade.
Why does Guan speak of a gaze on oneself?
The last two lines invite you to examine your own conduct: the ancient text sees in it a protection against going astray. Looking at others without looking at yourself is not enough.