Upper trigram
☱
Lake (Dui) above
Joy and openness.
FamilyYoungest daughter
ElementMetal
Hexagram 31 of 64
I Ching hexagram 31 ☱☶ Influence
I Ching hexagram 31, Influence, is lake above, mountain below. In brief: mutual attraction, courtship. Counting from the bottom, its solid lines sit in places 3, 4 and 5 and its broken lines in 1, 2 and 6.
- Lines, bottom up
- ⚋⚋⚊⚊⚊⚋ 001110 · 1 = solid
- Trigrams
- Lake over Mountain Dui ☱ / Gen ☶
- Every line changed
- № 41 Decrease
- In Legge, 1882
- p. 123 Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16
Legge, The Yî King, 1882.
Lower trigram
☶
Mountain (Gen) below
Stillness and limit.
FamilyYoungest son
ElementEarth
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What the text says, in plain terms
The Judgement and the Image of hexagram 31
The Judgement
Influence and attraction. Mutual response between two parties brings success, especially when approached with openness rather than pressure.
The Image
A lake on top of a mountain, water sinking into the rock. The lesson is to stay open and receptive so that others can reach you.
A summary of meaning written for this site, not a translation — James Legge’s 1882 translation of the full text follows below. How the Judgement and the Image are read, and which translations to use →
Primary source
Hexagram 31 in James Legge’s translation
“Hsien indicates that, (on the fulfilment of the conditions implied in it), there will be free course and success. Its advantageousness will depend on the being firm and correct, (as) in marrying a young lady. There will be good fortune.”
“(The trigram representing) a mountain and above it that for (the waters of) a marsh form Hsien. The superior man, in accordance with this, keeps his mind free from pre-occupation, and open to receive (the influences of) others.”
The lines
- Line 1 · bottom The first line, divided, shows one moving his great toes.
- Line 2 The second line, divided, shows one moving the calves of his leg. There will be evil. If he abide (quiet in his place), there will be good fortune.
- Line 3 The third line, undivided, shows one moving his thighs, and keeping close hold of those whom he follows. Going forward (in this way) will cause regret.
- Line 4 The fourth line, undivided, shows that firm correctness which will lead to good fortune, and prevent all occasion for repentance. If its subject be unsettled in his movements, (only) his friends will follow his purpose.
- Line 5 The fifth line, undivided, shows one moving the flesh along the spine above the heart. There will be no occasion for repentance.
- Line 6 · top The sixth line, divided, shows one moving his jaws and tongue.
James Legge, trans., The Yî King, The Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 123 — read the original text.
Words in parentheses are Legge’s own: in his preface he explains that they supply what the original writer left unsaid. “Undivided” and “divided” are his terms for yang and yin lines, counted from the bottom. The Image comes from the second appendix of the book, the Treatise on the Symbolism.
Influence for a decision
Move by attraction, not force. Listen to how the other side responds and let the connection develop from both directions.
I Ching 31 in love and relationships
Courtship, mutual attraction and emotional responsiveness. A traditionally favorable hexagram for partnership.
Hexagram 31 at work
Persuasion, partnerships and building rapport. Genuine interest in the other party's view is what wins them over.
The six lines of hexagram 31
Read from the bottom up. This figure runs yin yin yang yang yang yin — what each position means.
3 yang and 3 yin lines. Four of the six stand in their proper place, and all three pairs answer each other.
What the two trigrams do to each other
Inner and outer
Mountain below — stillness and limit — is the private, inner side of hexagram 31.
Lake above — joy and openness — is the world that side meets.
The five-element relation
Earth below generates Metal above in the five-element cycle: the lower trigram feeds the upper. Energy moves upward and outward, which is the more productive of the two directions.
Read as a family
The youngest daughter sits above and the youngest son below. A brother and a sister of the same rank in age, which reads as a relationship between equals.
Calculated from the lines
Hexagrams connected to hexagram 31
Nuclear hexagram
44 · Coming to Meet
What is happening beneath the surface.
Lines 2–4 give Xun (Wind) as the lower trigram, lines 3–5 give Qian (Heaven) as the upper.
Opposite hexagram
41 · Decrease
The situation turned inside out.
Change all six lines and Lake over Mountain becomes Mountain over Lake.
Inverse hexagram
32 · Duration
The situation seen from the other side.
Turn the figure upside down and Lake over Mountain becomes Thunder over Wind.
None of these are assigned by an author — each follows from the arrangement of lines.
The image
Lake above, Mountain below.
Lake over Mountain: joy and openness meeting stillness and limit.
Sources
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “I Ching Hexagram 31: Influence.” Accessed October 27, 2026. https://astrohot.com/i-ching/hexagram/31/
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