Hexagram 34: Great Strength
Outer trigram (upper)
Chấn
Thunder · Wood
Inner trigram (lower)
Càn
Heaven · Metal
Judgment
大壯：利貞.
Translation
Da Zhuang (great strength): favorable to hold to what is correct.
Commentary
Zhen above is thunder, Qian below is heaven — thunder above heaven, awesome and powerful. Four yang lines below and two yin lines above show the yang force growing strong. Great strength must hold to what is correct, or its very strength becomes harmful. As the Commentary on the Judgment says: only strength joined with rightness is true greatness.
Line Readings
Line 1 (yang)
初九：壯于趾，征凶，有孚.
Translation
Strength shows in the toes — pressing forward brings misfortune, though the intent behind it is sincere.
Commentary
Line 1, yang, is strong but sits at the very bottom, only just beginning. Pressing forward too soon brings misfortune — one must hold to sincere trust and wait for the right time.
Line 2 (yang)
九二：貞吉.
Translation
Holding to what is correct brings good fortune.
Commentary
Line 2, yang, holds the center, and holding to what is correct brings good fortune — strength paired with a centered, correct bearing.
Line 3 (yang)
九三：小人用壯，君子用罔．貞厲，羝羊觸藩，羸其角.
Translation
The small-minded person relies on brute force; the noble person relies on restraint. Even holding to what is correct brings danger, like a ram butting a hedge and getting its horns caught.
Commentary
Line 3, yang, is firm but does not hold the center — too forceful, like a ram charging headlong at a hedge. The small-minded person relies on force; the noble person knows better than to use strength recklessly.
Line 4 (yang)
九四：貞吉，悔亡，藩決不羸，壯于大輿之輹.
Translation
Holding to what is correct brings good fortune, and regret vanishes; the hedge gives way and nothing is caught, strength now resting firm as the axle of a great cart.
Commentary
Line 4, yang, holds a correct position, its strength applied in the right way, able to pass through obstruction (the hedge gives way) — a strength as steady and enduring as the axle of a great cart.
Line 5 (yin)
六五：喪羊于易，无悔.
Translation
The ram is lost in open, level ground — no regret.
Commentary
Line 5, yin, sits in the position of honor without relying on force, letting the ram — the firm yang below — run off on its own rather than contending with it. No regret. Knowing when to yield is itself a virtue.
Line 6 (yin)
上六：羝羊觸藩，不能退，不能遂，无攸利，艱則吉.
Translation
A ram butts against a hedge, unable to retreat or advance — nothing is favorable, yet good fortune comes through enduring hardship.
Commentary
Line 6, yin, sits at the very top, caught between retreat and advance. But by enduring hardship, good fortune comes in the end.