In love
As a couple, Da zhuang stresses energy and momentum: bring vitality to the bond, without trying to dominate or to win.
Hexagram 34
I Ching hexagram 34: The Power of the Great (Da zhuang)
Da zhuang means the power of the great: growing strength, a powerful energy to be used with integrity and measure.
- power
- integrity
- mastery
The essentials
Da zhuang at a glance
For you, Da zhuang points to a very real strength: it carries far, provided it is guided by what is right.
A strength
Considerable energy, available to act and to defend what matters.
Something to watch
Letting your own strength go to your head: power without measure runs into the first fence.
- What it advises
- Use your strength for what is right, keep it under control, and give up any needless display.
- Its opposite
- 20. Contemplation (Guan)
The situation
Da zhuang places Heaven beneath Thunder: the momentum of the upper adds to the strength of the lower. Four solid lines climb, two broken lines crown them. The Judgment finds it useful to be firm and upright.
The hexagram speaks of a living force, but it does not celebrate it unconditionally. True greatness is the kind that stands on what is right: without that, power wears itself out against obstacles and becomes dangerous.
It invites you to use your energy for just ends, not to use it to dominate, and to keep an inner mastery equal to the strength available.
The image: Thunder above Heaven
- AboveThunder: the shock that awakens
- BelowHeaven: the force that creates
Thunder above Heaven: powerful awakening over creative force. For the commentary, the rule of conduct is to forbid yourself any act that does not conform to propriety.
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) · solidStrength shows only in the toes: advancing this way leads to a setback, the Judgment asserts. A momentum too low to carry.
- 2nd line · solidHolding firm with integrity gives a good outcome: the strength is contained and well placed, which the Judgment holds to be fortunate.
- 3rd line · solidA person of little worth uses all their strength; a person of worth does not. A ram butts against the fence and gets its horns caught.
- 4th line · solidRegrets disappear: the fence opens without the horns catching. Strength shows like that of the spokes of a great cart.
- 5th line · brokenThe strength of the ram is lost with ease in the open field: no regret to have. Knowing how to let go of your hardness is also strength.
- 6th line (top) · brokenThe ram butting the fence can neither retreat nor advance: nothing is favorable. But if it recognizes the difficulty, a way out appears.
Da zhuang in your life
At work
Professionally, Da zhuang favors determined action, large-scale projects, and leadership, as long as the method stays upright.
The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.
How is it built?
- Character
- 大壯 (dà zhuàng)
- Number
- 34 in the King Wen sequence
- Trigrams
- Thunder (震) above, Heaven (乾) below
- Inner hexagram
- 43. Breakthrough (Guai) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
- Read upside down
- 33. Retreat (Dun)
- Symbol
- ䷡ (U+4DE1)
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 34
What does I Ching hexagram 34 mean?
Hexagram 34, Da zhuang, means the power of the great: considerable strength that is truly great only if it stays right and measured.
How are Da zhuang and Dun related?
Turned upside down, this figure becomes Dun, Retreat. When strength is at its peak, knowing how to step back remains an option.