Yarrow 综卦 source note · 2026-07-17

Dun and Da Zhuang: What a Zong Gua Inverse Pair Shows

Compare Hexagram 33 Dun (Retreat) and Hexagram 34 Da Zhuang (Great Power) as a zong gua inverse pair: reversed line order changes viewing direction without forecasting a transition.

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33 · Dun · Retreat

Retreat: Success. In small matters, it is advantageous to persevere. The Tuan says: "Retreat brings success" — by retreating, one attains success. The firm is in its proper place and finds response; one moves with the time. "In small matters it is advantageous to persevere" — for the yin gradually grows and spreads.

The hexagram statement of Dun is developed closely around the image of "mountain beneath heaven." Its meaning both indicates the tendency within the hexagram image of yielding yin petty persons gradually "soaking and...

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34 · Da Zhuang · Great Power

The Great Power: it furthers one to be persevering. The Tuan says: The Great Power means that the great is strong. Firm and in movement, hence strong. "The Great Power furthers perseverance," for the great must be correct. When greatness and correctness are joined, the disposition of heaven and earth may be seen.

"Great and upright" and "firm in movement" are the distinctive powers of Da Zhuang. Majestic and grand, with a presence that is proper and correct, awe-inspiring and strong—this is the force that thunder unleashes in...

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What the 综卦 relation actually says

The local structured corpus records Hexagram 33's 综卦 (zong gua, inverse) as Hexagram 34, and Hexagram 34's inverse as Hexagram 33. In the corpus's stored six-line sequence, 111001 becomes 100111 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 111001 and 100111 in two columns, reverse the first sequence, and verify the match. Then copy one concrete phrase from the reference layer for Dun and one from Da Zhuang; 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. Dun does not automatically become Da Zhuang; 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.