In love
In matters of the heart, Jing highlights a source of tenderness that does not run dry: tend it day to day, without going to draw elsewhere.
Hexagram 48
I Ching hexagram 48: The Well (Jing)
Jing, the Well, is the hexagram of the shared resource: always there, never exhausted, provided it is cleaned out and drawn up.
- resource
- upkeep
- sharing
The essentials
Jing at a glance
For you, Jing is a reminder that a deep resource already exists: the task is less to seek it than to maintain it and put it to use.
A strength
A source that does not change while everything around it does, and from which everyone can draw.
Something to watch
Leaving a cleaned well unused: a bucket that breaks at the last moment ruins the whole effort.
- What it advises
- Maintain what nourishes over the long term, and make sure it is actually used: an untapped source is worth only what you draw from it.
- Its opposite
- 21. Biting Through (Shi ke)
The situation
Jing takes the village well as its image. The town may move and customs may change, but the well stays the same: its water neither runs dry nor overflows, and those who come and those who go all draw from it.
The ancient text insists on one point: a well is worth something only if the water is actually brought up. If the bucket breaks just before it reaches the surface, the effort is lost. The hexagram speaks of real resources, then, but also of the care they require: mend the rope, clean out the rim, check what is truly being used.
It invites you to ask what, in your life, plays the role of a shared source, and whether you let it sleep or make it available.
The image: Water above Wind
- AboveWater: the risky passage
- BelowWind: gentleness that penetrates
Water above Wood: the bucket dips down and brings water back up. The classic commentary draws a lesson in governing: encourage work and invite everyone to help one another.
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 silted-up well where no one drinks, an old well that even the birds ignore: a neglected resource loses its visitors.
- 2nd line · solidWater escapes through a hole to the little fish, or leaks from a broken basket: the resource is there, but it is lost for lack of repair.
- 3rd line · solidA cleaned well that goes unused: this is a sorrow, because the water could serve everyone. With a wise sovereign, all would benefit.
- 4th line · brokenThe well is lined with care: no blame is recorded. You strengthen your foundations before serving others.
- 5th line · solidA clear well whose cold water is drunk freely: the resource is pure and fully used.
- 6th line (top) · brokenThe water is drawn to the top and the well is left uncovered: anyone can draw from it. Great good fortune, born of sincerity, says the text.
Jing in your life
At work
At work, the hexagram speaks of shared skills and resources: look after them, make them accessible, and use them to the full.
The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.
How is it built?
- Character
- 井 (jǐng)
- Number
- 48 in the King Wen sequence
- Trigrams
- Water (坎) above, Wind (巽) below
- Inner hexagram
- 38. Opposition (Kui) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
- Read upside down
- 47. Oppression (Kun)
- Symbol
- ䷯ (U+4DEF)
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 48
What does hexagram 48 of the I Ching mean?
Hexagram 48, Jing, means the well: a shared, lasting resource that is worth something only if it is maintained and its water is actually brought up.
How are hexagrams 47 and 48 related?
The two figures read as mirror images: Kun, the squeeze where nothing flows, and Jing, the well that gives. The ancient text places them side by side.