Yarrow paired source note · 2026-07-17

Heng and Yi: Read an Opposite Pair Without Ranking It

Compare Hexagram 32 Heng (Duration) with Hexagram 42 Yi (Increase) as a line-by-line opposite pair, without turning contrast into prediction.

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32 · Heng · Duration

HENG. The Enduring. Success. No blame. Furthering through perseverance. It furthers one to have somewhere to go. The Commentary on the Decision says: Heng means duration. The firm is above, the yielding below. Thunder and wind unite; gentle, yet in movement. Firm and yielding all correspond — this is Duration. "Duration brings success, no blame, furthering through perseverance" — for it abides long in its course. The course of heaven and earth endures, and never ceases.

"Moving in accord" is the hexagram image of Heng, and it is the fundamental reason why Heng is called "constancy.

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42 · Yi · Increase

Increase. It furthers one to undertake something. It furthers one to cross the great water. The Image says: Increase. The upper is diminished, the lower is increased; the joy of the people is without bound. What is above descends to what is below; thus the Way is greatly illumined. "It furthers one to undertake something": the central and correct bring blessing. "It furthers one to cross the great water": the way of wood is in motion.

Thunder and wind share the attribute of "responding to one another in resonance." The two reinforce each other: when thunder stirs, wind arises; as the thunderclap...

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What the structural contrast actually says

The local structured corpus records Hexagram 32's opposite as Hexagram 42, and Hexagram 42's opposite as Hexagram 32. Every line changes polarity across this pair. Use that structural fact to compare conditions, not to label one side good and the other bad.

Two-column comparison practice

Make two columns headed Heng and Yi. Under each, copy one phrase from its reference translation and one observable condition from the situation you are studying. Circle the condition that would have to change before the other column became more relevant. Choose one reversible step and a review date.

Common misread to avoid

An opposite pair is not a before-and-after promise. Heng does not automatically become Yi, and the pair does not decide which person or outcome is correct. It is a disciplined contrast for closer observation.

Source boundary

The two reference translations and context notes come from Yarrow's bundled structured Zhouyi authority layer. The opposite-pair relation comes from the same local corpus. This comparison is not a fresh cast or a forecast.