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Hexagram 39

I Ching hexagram 39: Obstruction (Jian)

Jian means obstruction, a blocked passage: stopping, turning inward, and seeking allies before forcing your way.

  • obstacle
  • self-examination
  • allies
The essentials

Jian at a glance

For you, Jian describes a difficulty ahead: rather than forcing, look at what you can revise in yourself and who can help you.

A strength

An art of stopping before the obstacle to reflect and seek support, instead of breaking against it.

Something to watch

Insisting on pushing through, or waiting alone for the obstacle to vanish.

What it advises
Stop before the obstacle, look at what depends on you, then seek support rather than forcing the passage.
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The situation

Jian places the Mountain beneath Water: a precipice ahead, a rock behind. The road is barred. The Judgment puts the advantage in the southwest and not the northeast; the commentators see in this the plain, easy to cross, as opposed to the mountain.

It adds that it is useful to see a person of great worth: you do not triumph alone over such a difficulty. Integrity leads to a good outcome.

The hexagram invites you to halt before the obstacle, to calmly examine what depends on you, and then to ask for help rather than wear yourself out.

The image: Water above the Mountain

  • AboveWater: the risky passage
  • BelowMountain: the stillness that steadies

The Mountain beneath Water: the water has stayed up high, on the heights. What the image teaches here: turn inward, examine yourself, and cultivate your character.

Consult the I Ching

Throw three coins six times: your hexagram, the lines that change, and the direction they point to.

Throw the coins

Free, no account · nothing is sent · no predictions

The six lines

  1. 1st line (bottom) · brokenAdvancing brings more difficulty, staying put earns praise: the first step must not be rushed.
  2. 2nd line · brokenA servant of the king who struggles from obstacle to obstacle, with no thought for his own interest: selfless effort deserves no reproach.
  3. 3rd line · solidAdvancing brings only more hardship: better to go back to your own people. Falling back to those who matter.
  4. 4th line · brokenAdvancing means stumbling harder: you stay in place and join the line above. Allying rather than forcing.
  5. 5th line · solidAt the height of the difficulties, friends come to help: the great obstacle finds its supports.
  6. 6th line (top) · brokenGoing forward would only increase the hardship, staying put brings great merit: a good outcome, and it is useful to see a person of great worth.

Jian in your life

In love

In a couple, Jian reminds you that a shared difficulty calls for looking at yourself before blaming the other, and then asking for an outside view.

At work

At work, the hexagram describes a blockage: stop pushing in the same direction, take advice from an experienced person, and look for another way through.

The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.

How is it built?

Character
蹇 (jiǎn)
Number
39 in the King Wen sequence
Trigrams
Water (坎) above, Mountain (艮) below
Inner hexagram
64. Before Completion (Wei ji) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
Read upside down
40. Deliverance (Jie)
Symbol
䷦ (U+4DE6)

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 39

What does I Ching hexagram 39 mean?

Hexagram 39, Jian, means obstruction: a blocked passage that invites you to stop, examine yourself, and ally with others, instead of forcing.

What does the southwest mean in Jian?

In the ancient texts, the southwest is the direction of the Earth, the Receptive, and the northeast that of the Mountain, which stops. The Judgment advises choosing the gentle way rather than the steep slope.

Related hexagrams

The figures that answer it

The 64 hexagrams