What does 元亨利贞 really mean?

[MadePossible]

The decision of Hexagram 1:

 

元亨利贞 (yuán hēng lì zhēn).

 

This is a highly mysterious phrase, appearing often throughout the Yijing.

 

1. 元 (yuán) - the early meaning was that of a head.
2. 亨 (hēng) - prosperity, success?
3. 利 (lì) - Shaughnessy tells us it originally represented a sharp knife harvesting grain. Later it took on the meaning of 'sharp' as in 'intelligent'.
4. 贞 (zhēn) - loyalty?

 

 

 

[Taomeow]

I think it's one of the least mysterious statements in the I Ching.

 

A favorable beginning (yuan), penetrating progress (heng), beneficial appropriateness (li), and steadfast correctness (zhen) -- 

throughout the I Ching Yuanheng Lizhen stands for the "green light" in response to your divination.  A "yes," rather than what the outcome of other inquiries may be -- "maybe," "possible but not likely," "don't go there," "a hard no."  

[forestofclarity]

Here's an interesting article below with a variety of interpretations depending on how you break it up. There are moral, philosophical, divinatory, etc. meanings. 

 

In the Taoist I Ching (a commentary by Liu Yiming, trans Cleary)), it is said to be a complete cycle of creation, like the four seasons or the four parts of internal cultivation. 

 

https://www.arcjournals.org/pdfs/ijhsse/v9-i11/1.pdf

[kakapo]

10 hours ago, MadePossible said:

The decision of Hexagram 1:

 

元亨利贞 (yuán hēng lì zhēn).

 

This is a highly mysterious phrase, appearing often throughout the Yijing.

 

1. 元 (yuán) - the early meaning was that of a head.
2. 亨 (hēng) - prosperity, success?
3. 利 (lì) - Shaughnessy tells us it originally represented a sharp knife harvesting grain. Later it took on the meaning of 'sharp' as in 'intelligent'.
4. 贞 (zhēn) - loyalty?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

元 (Yuán): That is a great idea.

 

亨 (Hēng): Everything will go well.

 

利 (Lì): Doing this will bring good results.

 

贞 (Zhēn): Everything will finish strong, and end well.

 

In the I Ching. It's the universe telling you that all conditions are aligned for a complete and total success, as long as you stay on track

 

 

[MadePossible]

There really are a thousand different ideas what it could mean, because no-one actually seems to know what it means.

[Taomeow]

3 hours ago, MadePossible said:

There really are a thousand different ideas what it could mean, because no-one actually seems to know what it means.

 

Note to self: never respond to newcomers' questions until you know more about them.   

[forestofclarity]

2 hours ago, Taomeow said:

 

Note to self: never respond to newcomers' questions until you know more about them.   

 

Other people read these also! 

[ChiDragon]

On 10/28/2025 at 2:22 AM, MadePossible said:

There really are a thousand different ideas what it could mean, because no-one actually seems to know what it means.

乾: 元亨利貞
乾 is the first hexagram of the 64 hexagrams in the Yinjing.
元亨利貞 describes the positive characteristics of the 乾 hexagram.
1. 元 describes that 乾 is the origin of all things. It is the creator of all things. It is the nature of the universe.

2. 亨 describes that everything with 乾 is going smoothly with nature.
3. 利 describes that everything with 乾 is beneficial without interruption, deterrence, or damage.
4. 貞 describes that everything with 乾 is genuine.  

[Sanity Check]

Knowing nothing about the system of trigrams, I'll comment this.

 

Why 64?

 

2^6 = 64.

 

Hm. Interesting.

[Taomeow]

2 hours ago, Sanity Check said:

Knowing nothing about the system of trigrams, I'll comment this.

 

Why 64?

 

2^6 = 64.

 

Hm. Interesting.

 

Very briefly, this is part of the taoist take on the nature of reality, the  "as above so below" principle coded in the  binary above-below numerical system of the I Ching.  "Heaven above, 32, Earth below, 32" is a statement often encountered in taoist alchemical literature.

  

The set of 64 hexagrams exhibits a perfect balance:

32 hexagrams are Yang in nature. These are the hexagrams that contain an odd number of solid, yang lines (1, 3, or 5).

32 hexagrams are Yin in nature. These are the hexagrams that contain an even number of broken, yin lines (2, 4, or 6).

 

The human body, measured in kuns, is 64.  A kun is a measurement unit (used, e.g., by competent acupuncturists for locating points) for a particular individual, approximately the width of that individual's thumb.  It is of course slightly different for all people, but based on the fractal nature of the body, there will be corresponding differences in the length of every part, and each anatomically normal human body will measure 64 kun.  The lower "heaven" part and the upper "earth" part are each 32.