Yarrow 综卦 source note · 2026-07-17

Xian and Heng: What a Zong Gua Inverse Pair Shows

Compare Hexagram 31 Xian (Influence) and Hexagram 32 Heng (Duration) as a zong gua inverse pair: reversed line order changes viewing direction without forecasting a transition.

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31 · Xian · Influence

Xian. Influence. Success. Furtherance through perseverance. To take a maiden to wife brings good fortune. The Commentary on the Decision says: Xian means influence. The yielding is above, the firm below; the two forces influence and respond to one another, drawing near in union. Stillness within, joy without; the man places himself beneath the woman.

This historical commentary reads the trigrams and line correspondences through a courtship and marriage image, emphasizing the lower position as humility.

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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.

"Moving in accord" is the hexagram image of Heng, and it is the fundamental reason why Heng is called "constancy." Movement brings change, and the Xici says: "Change leads to continuity, and continuity leads to...

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What the 综卦 relation actually says

The local structured corpus records Hexagram 31's 综卦 (zong gua, inverse) as Hexagram 32, and Hexagram 32's inverse as Hexagram 31. In the corpus's stored six-line sequence, 110001 becomes 100011 when the order is reversed. Turning the figure end for end changes line positions while preserving each line's yin or yang polarity.

Reverse, compare, then test

Draw 110001 and 100011 in two columns, reverse the first sequence, and verify the match. Then copy one concrete phrase from the reference layer for Xian and one from Heng; name one observable condition supporting each lens, choose one reversible check, and write what evidence would make you review the choice.

Common misread to avoid

A zong gua pair is not a before-and-after promise. Xian does not automatically become Heng; reversed structure neither ranks the two figures nor says which one must follow.

Source boundary

The reference layers and the zong-gua relationship come from Yarrow's bundled structured Zhouyi corpus. The English wording is an editorial explanation of that stored relation. This note is not a fresh cast, a forecast, or a claim that one hexagram must turn into the other.