Hexagram 27 Yi - Complete Guide Part 1: The Symbol and Structure of Nourishment
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BY NICOLE LAU
Hexagram 27 Yi - Complete Guide Part 1: The Symbol and Structure of Nourishment
Yi is the I Ching’s great hexagram of nourishment — of the fundamental question of what we choose to nourish ourselves with, and what we choose to nourish others with. The character yi (頤) means the corners of the mouth, the jaw, nourishment — the image of the open mouth that receives nourishment, the fundamental act of choosing what to take in and what to give out. Yi is one of the most intimate hexagrams in the I Ching: the question of genuine nourishment is the question of what we are becoming, because we become what we nourish ourselves with.
The Structure of Yi
Binary and Trigram
Yi is Hexagram 27 in the King Wen sequence. Its binary structure is 100001 — a yang line at the top, four yin lines in the middle, and a yang line at the bottom. This structure is the visual image of an open mouth: the two yang lines at the top and bottom are the lips, the four yin lines in the middle are the open space of the mouth. The structural image of Yi is the image of the open mouth: the fundamental act of choosing what to take in (nourishment) and what to give out (speech, teaching, nourishment of others).
The Two Trigrams
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Lower trigram: Zhen (震) — Thunder, Arousing, Movement
Thunder is the image of the genuine arousing force that moves all things. In Yi, the thunder of genuine arousing force is in the lower position: the genuine desire for nourishment that initiates the act of seeking nourishment. The thunder of Yi is the thunder of genuine hunger: the genuine desire for nourishment that is the foundation of the act of seeking genuine nourishment. -
Upper trigram: Gen (艮) — Mountain, Stillness, Keeping Still
Mountain is the image of genuine stillness. In Yi, the mountain of genuine stillness is above the thunder of genuine arousing force: the genuine stillness that receives nourishment without grasping, that nourishes others without depletion. The mountain of Yi is the mountain of genuine nourishment: the genuine stillness that receives and gives nourishment with genuine wisdom.
The Image: Thunder at the Foot of the Mountain
The Xiang Zhuan (Image Commentary) states: “At the foot of the mountain, thunder: the image of Providing Nourishment. Thus the superior man is careful about his words and temperate in eating and drinking.”
Thunder at the foot of the mountain is the image of genuine nourishment: the genuine arousing force of hunger at the foot of the genuine stillness of the mountain. The superior man who is careful about his words and temperate in eating and drinking — who is mindful of what he takes in (food and drink) and what he gives out (words) — is the practical expression of Yi: the genuine nourishment that is mindful of both what is received and what is given.
The Judgment: Perseverance Brings Good Fortune
The Tuan Zhuan (Judgment Commentary) states: “The Corners of the Mouth. Perseverance brings good fortune. Pay heed to the providing of nourishment and to what a man seeks to fill his own mouth with.”
Yi’s judgment is deceptively simple: perseverance brings good fortune. The genuine nourishment of Yi requires genuine perseverance — the patient, sustained attention to what we nourish ourselves with and what we nourish others with. Pay heed to the providing of nourishment: the most important practical teaching of Yi — pay attention to what you are nourishing yourself with and what you are nourishing others with. And to what a man seeks to fill his own mouth with: the most important self-examination of Yi — what are you seeking to fill your own mouth with?
The Central Teaching: We Become What We Nourish Ourselves With
The central teaching of Yi is the nature of genuine nourishment: we become what we nourish ourselves with. The person who nourishes themselves with genuine inner virtue — who is careful about their words, temperate in eating and drinking, mindful of what they take in and what they give out — becomes a person of genuine inner virtue. The person who nourishes themselves with what is not genuine — who is careless about their words, intemperate in eating and drinking, unmindful of what they take in and what they give out — becomes a person of what is not genuine.
The two dimensions of Yi: what we nourish ourselves with (what we take in — food, drink, words, ideas, relationships) and what we nourish others with (what we give out — words, teaching, care, nourishment). The superior man of Yi is mindful of both dimensions: careful about what he takes in and careful about what he gives out.
The Natural Sequence: From Da Xu to Yi
The Xu Gua Zhuan (Sequence Commentary) states: “Things are accumulated and then nourished. Hence after Da Xu comes Yi.” The natural sequence from Da Xu (The Great Taming Power) to Yi (Nourishment) is the I Ching’s account of how genuine nourishment follows genuine great accumulation: the person who has accumulated genuine inner virtue (Da Xu) must nourish that genuine inner virtue to sustain it (Yi). Genuine nourishment is the natural consequence of genuine great accumulation: the person who has accumulated genuine inner virtue must nourish it to sustain it.
Correspondences and Relationships
- Paired hexagram (Bi Gua): Hexagram 28 Da Guo (Preponderance of the Great) — Yi and Da Guo are paired: genuine nourishment (Yi) and the preponderance of the great (Da Guo) are the two faces of the same fundamental question of what sustains genuine inner virtue.
- Inverse hexagram (Zong Gua): Hexagram 28 Da Guo (Preponderance of the Great) — the inverse of Yi is Da Guo: the mountain above thunder (Yi) inverted becomes the lake above wind (Da Guo).
- Nuclear hexagram: Hexagram 2 Kun (The Receptive) — the nuclear hexagram of Yi is Kun, the hexagram of pure receptivity. The genuine nourishment of Yi contains within itself the seeds of the genuine receptivity that genuine nourishment requires: the complete openness of Kun that receives genuine nourishment with genuine welcome.
What Is Next in This Series
- Part 1 (This Article): The Symbol and Structure
- Part 2: The Six Lines — Complete Line-by-Line Commentary
- Part 3: Divination Guide — How to Read Yi in Practice
- Part 4: Philosophy — Yi in Confucian, Taoist, and Classical Thought
- Part 5: Practical Applications — Mindful Nourishment, Careful Speech, Temperate Living
- Part 6: Modern Interpretations — Nutritional Science, Mindfulness Research, Conscious Consumption
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