Hexagram 3 · ䷂
The beginnings of any great enterprise are fraught with difficulty. Like a seed just sprouting, the time calls for patience, perseverance, and careful planning....
Judgment
The beginnings of any great enterprise are fraught with difficulty. Like a seed just sprouting, the time calls for patience, perseverance, and careful planning. Establishing proper...
Image
The image of clouds and thunder represents the chaos of beginnings. The noble person, facing such challenges, brings order out of confusion through careful planning and organizatio...
Lines
Hesitation and confusion surround you at the beginning. The time has not yet come for action. Focus instead on establishing proper foundations and seeking wise rulers or advisors....
Supreme success, perseverance furthers. Do not act; it furthers to establish rulers.
The beginnings of any great enterprise are fraught with difficulty. Like a seed just sprouting, the time calls for patience, perseverance, and careful planning. Establishing proper foundations and finding wise advisors are essential for overcoming the initial challenges.
Difficulty at the Beginning represents the moment when the firm and yielding first unite and difficulty arises. Movement within danger brings great success through perseverance. The movement of thunder and rain fills everything. Heaven creates the chaotic beginnings; it is fitting to establish rulers, though there will be no peace.
The Tuan explains that Zhun represents the tumultuous period when heaven and earth first unite to give birth to all things. The world is in chaos, like thunder and rain filling the sky before order emerges. This is a time of hidden potential awaiting proper direction and leadership.
Cloud and thunder: Difficulty at the Beginning. The noble person brings order out of confusion.
The image of clouds and thunder represents the chaos of beginnings. The noble person, facing such challenges, brings order out of confusion through careful planning and organization.
Hesitation and confusion. It furthers to establish rulers.
Hesitation and confusion surround you at the beginning. The time has not yet come for action. Focus instead on establishing proper foundations and seeking wise rulers or advisors.
Small Image
Hesitation and confusion; though one has the strength, the time has not yet come.
Hesitation and confusion at the beginning shows that though strength exists, the proper time has not yet arrived.
Difficulties pile up. The horses appear to go astray. It is not a robber but a suitor. The maiden is chaste; she does not pledge herself. Ten years, then she pledges herself.
Difficulties pile up around you. Like horses appearing to go astray, what seems like danger may actually be opportunity. A maiden of virtue remains chaste and patient, waiting ten years before pledging herself.
Small Image
Difficulties pile up because the yielding rides on the hard.
Difficulties pile up because the yielding rides improperly upon the hard, violating the natural order.
Whoever hunts deer without a guide goes astray in the forest. The superior man understands the signs of the time and prefers to desist. To go on brings humiliation.
Like one who hunts deer without a guide and becomes lost in the forest, proceeding without proper guidance brings humiliation. The wise person recognizes the signs and prefers to desist.
Small Image
Hunting deer without a guide is to go on in spite of difficulties.
Hunting deer without a guide leads one astray. The wise person prefers to desist rather than continue into difficulties.
Horse and wagon part. Strive for union. To advance brings good fortune. No blame.
Horse and wagon part, yet strive for union. Though separated, advance brings good fortune when you work toward coming together.
Small Image
To advance brings good fortune because one places himself in the center of the fellowship.
Advancing brings good fortune because one places oneself in the center of the fellowship, seeking union.
Difficulties in blessing. A little perseverance brings good fortune. Great perseverance brings misfortune.
Difficulties in the midst of blessings. A little perseverance brings good fortune, but clinging too long to great perseverance brings misfortune.
Small Image
A little perseverance brings good fortune because one places himself in the central position.
A little perseverance brings good fortune because one maintains the central position. Great perseverance brings misfortune because the time is exhausted.
Horse and wagon part. Weeping tears of blood.
Horse and wagon part in complete separation. The situation ends in weeping tears of blood, for the way is exhausted.
Small Image
Weeping tears of blood means that the way is at an end.
Weeping tears of blood at the end shows that the way has reached its limit and cannot continue.
What does Chun / Difficulty at the Beginning mean in the I Ching?
The beginnings of any great enterprise are fraught with difficulty. Like a seed just sprouting, the time calls for patience, perseverance, and careful planning....
How should I study Hexagram 3 on this page?
Start with the judgment and image, then read the line statements in sequence. Hesitation and confusion surround you at the beginning. The time has not yet come for action. Focus instead on establishing proper foundations and seeking wise rulers or advisors....
How can this hexagram be applied in a modern reading?
The Tuan explains that Zhun represents the tumultuous period when heaven and earth first unite to give birth to all things. The world is in chaos, like thunder and rain filling the sky before order emerges. This is a tim...
Primary text: Zhouyi / I Ching, including the Judgment, Image, line texts, and related commentaries.
Translation basis: public-domain and modern study references, with AI used only as a learning aid.