Yarrow / Source Notes / 2026-07-17
Yarrow source note · 2026-07-17
A source-first reading note for Hexagram 4, Meng (Youthful Folly), with a reference translation, trigram frame, and one reversible observation practice.
Youthful Folly
The lower trigram is 坎 (水), associated in the bundled corpus with 陷; the upper trigram is 艮 (山), associated with 止. Read the lower trigram as the inner or starting field and the upper trigram as the outward field before turning the pattern into advice.
Youthful Folly leads to success. It is not I who seek the young fool; the young fool seeks me. At the first oracle I instruct. If he asks two or three times, it is importunity. To importunity I give no instruction. Perseverance furthers.
See the original-text and authority layers in the complete catalog entry.
The hexagram Meng carries both the meaning of childish ignorance and the image of engaging a teacher for enlightenment. Being young and unenlightened, the child has questions to ask. The second line occupies a central and correct position, so it seeks nothing from others. The fifth line is yin, occupying the honored position in emptiness, and lies within Gen, representing a young boy—one who ought to humbly inquire of those below. Yet if such questioning becomes excessive, it borders on disrespect toward the dignity of the teacher.
The lower trigram is 坎 (水), associated in the bundled corpus with 陷; the upper trigram is 艮 (山), associated with 止. Read the lower trigram as the inner or starting field and the upper trigram as the outward field before turning the pattern into advice.
Copy one concrete verb, condition, or image from the reference translation for Hexagram 4. Name one place where it is observable in the situation you are examining. Then choose one small step you can reverse and write the condition that would make you review it.
Do not turn Youthful Folly into a personality label, a guaranteed event, or a verdict about another person. The translation and trigram frame are source layers to examine, not an instruction to surrender judgment.
The reference translation and context are drawn from Yarrow's bundled structured Zhouyi authority layer. Yarrow keeps that layer separate from optional modern reflection. This page does not claim that Hexagram 4 was cast for your question.