Two people may both want a good result while preferring different methods. Kuí discusses separation, opposition, and mistaken recognition, but also encounters and the clearing of doubts. It does not demand the removal of every difference. It asks which differences should remain and which are misunderstandings caused by insufficient information.
Identity and line order
Kuí is hexagram 38 in the traditional King Wen sequence, with symbol ䷥. The lower trigram is Duì ☱ and the upper trigram is Lí ☲; their traditional images are lake and fire, respectively. Count the lines from the bottom: 初九、九二、六三、九四、六五、上九. A solid line is yang and a broken line is yin. Nine and six in the line labels designate yang and yin; they are not additional line numbers.
━━━━━━━━━ 上九
━━━━ ━━━━ 六五
━━━━━━━━━ 九四
━━━━ ━━━━ 六三
━━━━━━━━━ 九二
━━━━━━━━━ 初九
Hexagram statement
睽：小事吉。
Original editorial rendering; not a quotation from Legge: Opposition: good fortune in small matters.
Legge understands Kuí as disagreement and estrangement, while allowing progress in small matters. That limitation is important: it cannot be enlarged into a promise that every major disagreement will dissolve.
Today, seek one issue both sides can genuinely confirm, such as timing, material, or a small step. Establishing limited cooperation does not resolve every difference in values, interests, or long-term aims.
References: zhouyi-38, legge1882-38
Interpretations in the Ten Wings
The Commentary on the Judgment and the Commentary on the Images belong to the commentarial collection known as the Yìzhuàn, usually called the Ten Wings. Below, these commentaries are kept separate from the hexagram and line statements, followed by modern learning applications.
The Commentary on the Judgment uses images such as fire rising and a lake moving downward to explain divergence, while also allowing connection within difference. The Commentary on the Images proposes being together while remaining distinct. Common ground and difference can coexist.
Today, stop automatically treating disagreement as hostility. At the same time, acknowledge genuine conflicts of interest instead of hiding them behind the claim that everyone is fundamentally the same.
References: zhouyi-38, hon-sep
The six lines, from bottom to top
初九 · Do not let loss and aversion carry you away
悔亡，喪馬勿逐，自復；見惡人无咎。
Original editorial rendering; not a quotation from Legge: Regret disappears. A lost horse need not be chased; it returns of itself. Meeting an objectionable person: no blame.
Legge preserves the images of not chasing a lost horse that later returns and meeting a person one dislikes. This does not guarantee the automatic return of actual lost property.
In an ordinary disagreement, stop emotionally driven questioning for a moment so that missing facts can be supplied. Necessary contact still depends on real conditions. A statement of no blame cannot justify overlooking actual harmful conduct.
References: zhouyi-38, legge1882-38
九二 · An informal encounter can also matter
遇主于巷，无咎。
Original editorial rendering; not a quotation from Legge: Meeting the lord in a lane: no blame.
Meeting the lord in a lane suggests a smaller, more private route to contact. Legge interprets it through ancient hierarchical relations, rather than simply equating it with opportunistic flattery.
If formal discussions only repeat positions, try a clearly bounded conversation to clarify matters. Keep relevant people informed; private communication should not bypass important shared agreements.
References: zhouyi-38, legge1882-38
六三 · Do not romanticize images of obstruction
見輿曳，其牛掣，其人天且劓，无初有終。
Original editorial rendering; not a quotation from Legge: Seeing the cart dragged back, the ox restrained, and its driver marked on the forehead and deprived of the nose: no good beginning, but an ending.
A cart is held back, an ox restrained, and bodily images of ancient punishment appear. Legge preserves this harsh scene of obstruction and the subsequent statement that an ending comes.
A modern reading can acknowledge that communication may be genuinely difficult without justifying humiliation or harm. An ending after a failed beginning does not guarantee that every unhealthy relationship will turn out well.
References: zhouyi-38, legge1882-38
九四 · Even in isolation, trust must be built concretely
睽孤，遇元夫，交孚，厲无咎。
Original editorial rendering; not a quotation from Legge: Isolated in opposition, meeting a worthy person and exchanging trust: danger, but no blame.
Legge reads an encounter and an exchange of sincerity amid isolation while retaining the warning of danger. A new connection does not automatically remove all risks.
Use a small agreement to learn whether someone is reliable. Finally finding a person who agrees with you is not reason to skip verification or immediately give complete trust.
References: zhouyi-38, legge1882-38
六五 · A suitable connection can loosen estrangement
悔亡，厥宗噬膚，往何咎。
Original editorial rendering; not a quotation from Legge: Regret disappears. One's kin bites through skin; what blame in going forward?
In Legge's explanation, kinship and biting through skin suggest that a close connection makes union easier. The ancient political and family setting remains important.
Today, someone trusted by both sides may help explain a misunderstanding, but familiarity should not replace facts. Real help lets each side understand, rather than merely giving one side an advantage.
References: zhouyi-38, legge1882-38
上九 · Examine the first mistaken impression carefully
睽孤，見豕負涂，載鬼一車，先張之弧，後說之弧，匪寇婚媾，往遇雨則吉。
Original editorial rendering; not a quotation from Legge: Isolated in opposition, seeing a mud-covered pig and a cart full of ghosts; first drawing the bow, then lowering the bow. Not raiders but marriage partners. Going forward and meeting rain: good fortune.
A muddy pig, a ghost-filled cart, a drawn and then relaxed bow, and recognition of marriage partners rather than raiders trace a passage from suspicion to recognition. Legge explicitly connects the images with the estranged observer's outlook.
Today, ask whether a judgment rests on unchecked imaginings. The text proves neither the existence of ghosts nor that every warning is a misunderstanding. New facts are needed to decide whether a judgment should change.
References: zhouyi-38, legge1882-38
Two different plans for an event
Original modern scenario
Two organizers disagree about an event. One values free conversation; the other worries that participants will not know how to begin. They first establish the shared aim, then test a session with a short introduction followed by open discussion.
Afterward, they collect specific participant feedback and discover that part of the dispute came from different assumptions about the audience's experience. Some preferences remain different, which they acknowledge rather than forcing uniformity.
Kuí here helps break disagreement into manageable parts and check misunderstandings. Actual results determine the scope for cooperation; a favorable ancient statement does not guarantee it.
Misreadings to avoid
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Kuí does not require reconciliation, establish another person's malice, or prove that all your suspicions are wrong. Risks and differences both need factual examination.
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Ancient punishments, ghost-filled carts, and marriage images do not predict health, supernatural events, or romance, and cannot defend harmful behavior.
Three practices
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Write down the actual disagreement separately from guesses about the other person's motives.
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Find one small matter both sides can still check together.
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After receiving new information, state which understanding changed and which difference remains.
Related hexagram
Jiā Rén — The Family (hexagram-37)
Jiā Rén values dependable shared life; Kuí reminds us that differences also exist within a community. Clear responsibilities and room for difference may both fit reality better than requiring complete agreement.
A closing question
While reading Kuí, ask: where exactly do we differ, and what have we not yet properly understood from one another?
Textual note
The third line adopts the “掣” variant explicitly listed in the base edition; the page's main text uses the older character “𧤊”.