King Wen: Doubling the Trigrams and the Hexagram Judgments

This article explores the traditions surrounding King Wen of Zhou. We will look into the accounts of his imprisonment and how, during this period, he is said to have undertaken the monumental work of expanding the eight trigrams into the 64 hexagrams, and composing their accompanying judgments (Gua Ci).

A King in Captivity

King Wen, whose name means "Cultured King," was a respected leader of the Zhou people during the latter part of the Shang Dynasty. According to tradition, his virtue and growing influence were seen as a threat by the tyrannical Shang ruler, King Zhou (no relation, and a notoriously cruel figure in Chinese history). As a result, King Wen was unjustly imprisoned at Youli.

It is said that during his years of confinement, rather than succumbing to despair, King Wen dedicated himself to profound contemplation and study. He took Fu Xi's eight trigrams and explored their permutations, systematically combining them to create the 64 hexagrams. Each hexagram is formed by stacking one trigram on top of another, creating a six-line symbol that could represent a far greater range of situations and states of change.

The Judgments: Wisdom from a Sage-King

But King Wen didn't stop at just creating the hexagram structures. For each of the 64 hexagrams, he is traditionally credited with writing a short, often poetic text known as the "Judgment" or "Hexagram Statement" (Gua Ci). These judgments provide an overarching interpretation of the hexagram's meaning, often offering counsel, describing the nature of the situation it represents, and hinting at potential outcomes or appropriate attitudes.

King Wen's work, born from a period of adversity, transformed the earlier system of eight trigrams into a more complex and nuanced tool for understanding and navigating life's complexities. His contributions are seen as a testament to the power of wisdom and inner strength in the face of hardship.