A view through a door crack, from within the scene, or from a position of responsibility can yield very different information about the same matter. Contemplation presents these viewpoints in sequence and also makes the observer someone who is observed. It does not promise intuitive insight into other people; it connects perspective, responsibility, and self-examination.
Identifying the hexagram
Guān is hexagram 20 in the traditional King Wen sequence, with the symbol ䷓. Its lower trigram is Kun ☷ and its upper trigram is Xun ☴; their traditional images are earth and wind, respectively. Count the lines from the bottom: 初六, 六二, 六三, 六四, 九五, 上九. A solid line is yang and a broken line is yin. Nine and six in the line headings identify yang and yin; they do not indicate additional lines.
The six lines are numbered from the bottom upward; the figure below displays their actual positions from top to bottom.
━━━━━━ 上九
━━━━━━ 九五
━━ ━━ 六四
━━ ━━ 六三
━━ ━━ 六二
━━ ━━ 初六
Hexagram statement
觀：盥而不薦，有孚顒若。
Editorial rendering: Contemplation: the hands have been washed, but the offering has not yet been presented. Sincerity is present, with solemn reverence.
Guàn (盥) here means washing the hands before sacrifice, while jiàn (薦) means presenting the offering. The statement pauses after preparation but before the offering. Legge preserves the image of a sincere, reverent officiant solemnly observed by others. Understanding this ritual setting prevents mistaking the ancient wording for everyday hygiene advice.
Legge also distinguishes the two aspects of displaying and viewing within guan: something is presented and others look at it. A contemporary application can begin with preparing your actions and checking the information they convey, without assuming an ability to read minds.
[zhouyi-20; legge1882-20]
Interpretation in the Ten Wings
The Commentary on the Judgment (Tuan zhuan) and the Commentary on the Images (Xiang zhuan) belong to the Yi zhuan, the commentaries commonly called the Ten Wings. Their interpretations are kept separate below from the hexagram and line statements, followed by applications for contemporary learning.
The Commentary on the Images takes wind moving over the earth and describes former kings visiting the regions, observing the people, and establishing instruction. The Commentary on the Judgment also connects this with the example set by those above. This is observation in an ancient setting of governance.
Today, retain the requirement to understand actual circumstances without turning observation into labeling people. Limited sightings, surface behavior, and your own inferences need to be distinguished; important judgments especially require verifiable grounds.
[zhouyi-20; hon-sep]
Six lines, from bottom to top
The quotations below are line statements; the explanations that follow are original learning commentary. Good fortune, no blame, and regret belong to ancient divinatory language and cannot be turned directly into guarantees about an individual’s future.
初六 · Match responsibility for judgment with adequate observation
童觀，小人无咎，君子吝。
Editorial rendering: Childlike observation: no blame for a petty person, but cause for regret for an exemplary person.
Childlike observation depicts limited experience and perspective. The ancient text sets different requirements for different social roles, and Legge retains that distinction.
A contemporary understanding is that someone bearing greater responsibility for judgment needs fuller knowledge of the situation. This must not justify looking down on children, beginners, or people of lower social status. The real question is whether the evidence is sufficient.
[zhouyi-20; legge1882-20]
六二 · A partial view cannot stand in for the whole
窺觀，利女貞。
Editorial rendering: Peering through a narrow opening: constancy is favorable for a woman, in the text’s ancient gendered setting.
Peering observation resembles looking through a gap in a door. Legge connects this restricted perspective with women’s domestic situation in antiquity, reflecting explicitly historical gender assumptions.
This article does not endorse a requirement that women have narrower perspectives. For every reader, the contemporary question is the same: which part have I seen, and which viewpoints have I not yet encountered?
[zhouyi-20; legge1882-20]
六三 · Examine yourself through actions that have actually occurred
觀我生，進退。
Editorial rendering: Observe my life, then advance or withdraw.
Legge reads “observe my life” as reviewing the course of one’s own life before deciding whether to advance or withdraw. This is not remaining still and guessing what kind of person you essentially are.
Review several recent actions: what helped, and what repeatedly created the same problem? Adjusting from actual records is often more useful than repeatedly judging yourself excellent or a failure.
[zhouyi-20; legge1882-20]
六四 · Come closer to a wider setting and experience
觀國之光，利用賓于王。
Editorial rendering: Observe the splendor of the state; it is favorable to be a guest of the king.
The text describes observing a state’s splendor and being suited to become the king’s guest. Legge explains approaching a center of power and culture in its ancient political setting.
A contemporary analogy is learning about a practice that is actually operating and questioning people who know it well. Surface impressions from a visit cannot replace understanding everyday difficulties and limits.
[zhouyi-20; legge1882-20]
九五 · When you have influence, examine the consequences more closely
觀我生，君子无咎。
Editorial rendering: Observe my life: an exemplary person is without blame.
Like the third six, this line says “observe my life,” but occupies a different traditional position. The Commentary on the Images adds “观民,” observing the people. Legge likewise emphasizes that higher status does not exempt anyone from self-examination.
When your decisions affect others, ask whether the arrangements are understandable and whether they create extra burdens. Good intentions alone do not establish good effects.
[zhouyi-20; legge1882-20]
上九 · Extend observation beyond a single display to sustained behavior
觀其生，君子无咎。
Editorial rendering: Observe that person’s life: an exemplary person is without blame. The pronoun and its relation to the fifth line remain interpretively open.
The final line changes “my” to “their.” Legge acknowledges that the difference from the fifth line is difficult to convey in translation, while still explaining it as self-examination from a high position. We must not insist there is only one undisputed reading.
A contemporary open question is: viewed from a little farther away, what continuing pattern would these actions reveal? This requires facts and feedback, not lifelong verdicts on people based on a few observations.
[zhouyi-20; legge1882-20]
Seeing how an event really works
Original contemporary scenario
The following contemporary scenario was created for learning.
An organizer visits another group’s workshop and at first notices only the orderly space and smooth facilitation. Later, she asks about registration, preparation, accessibility arrangements, and cleanup, discovering how much work lies outside the audience’s view.
Back at her own event, she does not simply copy the appearance. She compares which conditions are similar and which differ. Afterward, she asks participants whether they understood the arrangements and where more explanation was needed.
Contemplation here concerns both observing others and examining oneself. A broader perspective comes from more relevant facts, not more confident guesses.
Common misreadings
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Contemplation is not a technique for reading character or minds. It cannot establish someone’s hidden motives, feelings, health, or trustworthiness.
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Ancient differences of role and gender must be identified, not turned into contemporary rules for how people ought to live. Observation needs respect for privacy and cannot replace the people concerned speaking for themselves.
Three practices
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Separate a judgment into what you actually observed, what others explained, and what you inferred.
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Find one viewpoint you have not yet heard that is directly relevant to the matter.
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Choose one of your actions and ask those actually affected whether it provided the help you intended.
Related reading
Approach (hexagram-19)
Approach asks how to draw near; Contemplation asks what you see after approaching and how you become someone others observe. Understanding before helping and checking afterward are equally important.
Closing question
When reading Contemplation, ask: how much of what I now feel sure of comes from actually seeing, and how much is an explanation I supplied myself?
Sources
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legge1882-20: The Yî King — Hexagram 20, chapter XX, judgement, six lines and notes
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unicode-hexagrams: Yijing Hexagram Symbols — U+4DC0–U+4DFF
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legge-scan-rights: Sacred Books of the East volume16 scan metadata
Classical quotations retain the Chinese source’s character forms and modern punctuation. The commentary is translated from original Simplified Chinese learning prose. The historical English source and received Chinese text are used together, and interpretations by later translators are attributed in the article. This article is not a basis for medical, investment, or other professional decisions.