Hexagram 34
雷天大壮
Great Power
Hexagram 34, Da Zhuang (Great Power), is Thunder in Heaven above - the explosive power of lightning in the vast sky.
Upper Trigram
☳
震 (木)
Lower Trigram
☰
乾 (金)
Palace
坤 Palace
Shi / Ying Lines
Shi: Line 4 · Ying: Line 1
The 震 trigram (木) sits above the 乾 trigram (金), forming 雷天大壮. This hexagram belongs to the 坤 Palace.
Judgment (卦辞)
The Power of the Great. Perseverance furthers.
Judgment text follows the Wilhelm–Baynes translation (The I Ching or Book of Changes, Princeton University Press), quoted for commentary.
Image (象辞)
Thunder in heaven above: the image of the Power of the Great.
Line Texts (爻辞)
Power in the toes. Continuing brings misfortune. (壮于趾)
Perseverance brings good fortune. (贞吉)
The inferior man works through power. (小人用壮)
Perseverance brings good fortune. Remorse disappears. (贞吉悔亡)
Loses the goat with ease. No remorse. (丧羊于易)
A goat butts against a hedge. Cannot go forward or back. (羝羊触藩)
Hexagram 34 in Love & Relationships
Relationships: Power imbalances destroy intimacy. If you hold more power in the relationship, actively create space for the other person.
Hexagram 34 in Career & Decisions
Career: When you have leverage in a negotiation, restraint builds more lasting value than domination.
Hexagram 34 as a yes / no answer
Leans yes
The hexagram's core image favors moving forward — conditions support the asking.
The I Ching reads situations, not fixed outcomes — your reading can weigh the moving lines with this leaning.
In-Depth Analysis[+]
Hexagram 34, Da Zhuang (Great Power), is Thunder in Heaven above - the explosive power of lightning in the vast sky. This is the hexagram of great strength, of power that has reached its peak. The judgment says The Power of the Great; perseverance furthers. But the lines warn against the misuse of power: the goat butting against a hedge and getting its horns entangled. The hexagram teaches that true power knows its limits, that strength must be exercised with restraint, and that the greatest power is the one that chooses not to act.
Historical Stories[+]
Alexander the Great's conquest: unequaled military power (Da Zhuang) that reached from Greece to India. But his empire fragmented immediately after his death - the goat butted against the hedge and its horns got entangled.
The United States after World War II: possessing unprecedented military and economic power, it chose (imperfectly) to build institutions rather than simply dominate. The Marshall Plan was Da Zhuang exercised with restraint.
Practical Applications[+]
Career: When you have leverage in a negotiation, restraint builds more lasting value than domination.
Relationships: Power imbalances destroy intimacy. If you hold more power in the relationship, actively create space for the other person.
Personal Growth: Where do you have more power than you realize? And where are you butting against a hedge?
Classical Sources for Hexagram 34
卜筮正宗 (The Orthodox Manual of Divination)清 (Qing Dynasty, 1644–1912)
The Eighteen Questions framework, the classification of hexagram patterns by life domain (career, wealth, relationships, health, travel, litigation), and the methodological rules for interpreting conflicting lines.
Related Hexagrams
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