Hexagram 43: Breakthrough
Outer trigram (upper)
Đoài
Marsh · Metal
Inner trigram (lower)
Càn
Heaven · Metal
Judgment
夬：揚于王庭，孚號，有厲，告自邑，不利即戎，利有攸往.
Translation
Breakthrough: announce it openly at the royal court; call out with sincerity, aware that danger remains. Proclaim it starting from your own town. It is not favorable to resort to force; it is favorable to have somewhere to go.
Commentary
Above is Tui, the lake; below is Càn, heaven. Water rises from the lake into the sky and breaks open as rain — decisive action bursting forth. Five yang lines move together to remove a single yin line, as the noble person resolves to remove a petty person from power. This must be done openly and publicly, through moral force rather than violence.
Line Readings
Line 1 (yang)
初九：壯于前趾，往不勝，為咎.
Translation
Strength shows in the front of the toes; advancing now will not succeed, and becomes a fault.
Commentary
Line 1 is yang at the very bottom, and it is tempted to charge ahead on confidence in its own strength alone. But it is not yet strong enough to overcome the petty person represented by line 6, and pressing forward now would be a mistake.
Line 2 (yang)
九二：惕號，莫夜有戎，勿恤.
Translation
Stay alert and give warning; even if attacked at night, there is nothing to fear.
Commentary
Line 2 is yang and centered, and it stays watchful and prepared. Because it is ready for anything, even a night attack holds no danger for it.
Line 3 (yang)
九三：壯于頄，有凶，君子夬夬，獨行遇雨，若濡有慍，无咎.
Translation
Strength shows in the cheekbones — there is danger. The noble person acts with firm resolve; walking alone in the rain and getting soaked brings irritation, but no blame.
Commentary
Line 3 is yang and corresponds to line 6, yin — meaning it has some connection to the petty person, which risks being misunderstood. But the noble person must still act with clear resolve; some irritation along the way is no real fault.
Line 4 (yang)
九四：臀无膚，其行次且，牽羊悔亡，聞言不信.
Translation
Raw and tender as skinless flesh, one moves forward haltingly. Following along like a led sheep would end the regret, but the warning goes unheeded.
Commentary
Line 4 is yang, neither centered nor correctly placed — unsteady, like flesh with no skin to protect it, and it struggles to advance. It needs to accept good advice and go along willingly, the way a sheep is led; only then would its regret come to an end.
Line 5 (yang)
九五：莧陸夬夬，中行，无咎.
Translation
Like pulling up a purslane weed, act with firm resolve; keeping to the balanced middle path, there is no blame.
Commentary
Line 5 is yang, centered and correctly placed, holding the position of honor. It removes the nearby petty person decisively, yet without overreaching — a resolve tempered by balance, so there is no fault.
Line 6 (yin)
上六：无號，終有凶.
Translation
No one answers the call for help — in the end, misfortune.
Commentary
Line 6, yin, represents the petty person at the very end of their influence, opposed by all five yang lines below. With no one left to come to its aid, misfortune follows.