TL;DR: The Khảm trigram (坎, ☵) according to the Thuyết Quái is water, the trigram of the due North, the trigram of hardship and the place where all things return. Its images include water, the North (Hậu Thiên), the Water element, the second son, the ear, the pig, and the color red. Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: when facing difficulty, one may refer to the spirit of water, adapting flexibly rather than confronting head-on.
What is the Kan Trigram according to the Shuogua?
The Shuogua says: 坎者，水也，正北方之卦也，勞卦也，萬物之所歸也，故曰勞乎坎。Sino-Vietnamese reading: Khảm giả, thủy dã, chính bắc phương chi quái dã, lao quái dã, vạn vật chi sở quy dã, cố viết lao hồ Khảm. Close translation: Kan is water, it is the trigram of due north, it is the trigram of toil, it is where the ten thousand things return, and so it is said "toil at Kan". This is the original text of the Shuogua zhuan, one of the Ten Wings, traditionally attributed to Confucius; modern scholarship does not regard this as proven.
The Shuogua also says: 坎，陷也 (Khảm, hãm dã), meaning Kan symbolizes falling in, sinking. And: 潤萬物者，莫潤乎水 (Nhuận vạn vật giả, mạc nhuận hồ thủy), meaning that in moistening the ten thousand things, nothing surpasses water[1].
How does Zhu Xi comment on the Kan trigram image?
Zhu Xi, in the Zhouyi benyi, first volume, Bagua shouxiang ge, writes: 坎中滿, meaning Kan has a full middle line. This mnemonic describes the shape of the Kan trigram: one solid yang line in the middle, two broken yin lines above and below, forming the image of water filling a deep ravine.
How is the structure of the Kan trigram understood?
The Kan trigram (☵) consists of one yang line in the middle, with two yin lines surrounding it above and below. In the understanding of Nhật Nguyệt, this structure evokes the image of a stream flowing through the bed of a deep ravine: outwardly soft and sunken, yet inwardly concealing a strength not easily subdued.
In the Bagua system, Kan is ranked among the "middle son" trigrams: the second son. The Shuogua says: 坎再索而得男，故謂之中男 (Khảm tái sách nhi đắc nam, cố vị chi trung nam), meaning Kan is the second son. Its position in the Later Heaven Bagua lies in the North, corresponding to winter by tradition.
The images of the Kan trigram according to the Shuogua and the core attribute table
According to the Shuogua zhuan, the Kan trigram has the following images:
| Image | Shuogua | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 坎為水 | Main image |
| Direction | 正北方之卦 | Later Heaven North |
| Five phases | Water | Core attribute table |
| Season | Winter | Traditional |
| Family | 中男 | Second son |
| Body part | 坎為耳 | Ear |
| Animal | 坎為豕 | Pig |
| Color | 為赤 | Red |
| Nature | 陷也 | Falling in, sinking |
| Other | 為溝瀆、為隱伏、為矯輮、為弓輪 | Ditches and channels, concealment, bending and straightening, bows and wheels |
| Regarding people | 為加憂、為心病、為耳痛、為血卦 | Added worry, heart ailment, earache, the blood trigram |
| Regarding horses | 為美脊、為亟心、為下首、為薄蹄、為曳 | Beautiful spine, urgent heart, lowered head, thin hooves, dragging |
| Regarding carts | 為多眚、為通、為月、為盜 | Many calamities, penetrating, the moon, the thief |
| Regarding wood | 為堅多心 | Hard with a dense core |
Where schools differ: the Early Heaven Bagua places Kan in the West, the Later Heaven Bagua places it in the North. This article follows the Later Heaven arrangement.
Kan in relation to other trigrams
| Feature | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Nature | Dangerous, arduous, yet concealing strength and wisdom |
| Direction | Due North (Later Heaven Bagua) |
| Season | Winter, a time of hiding and accumulation |
| Family | Second son (Middle son) |
| Body part | Ear |
| Color | Red (according to the Shuogua) |
| Animal | Pig |
When combined with the Kun trigram (Earth) it forms the doubled Shi hexagram (Army): the image of a general leading the masses through danger. Combined with the Li trigram (Fire) it forms the Jiji hexagram: "already complete".
Today's suggestion from the Kan trigram
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: When you meet a tense situation at work, you may draw on the spirit of water: soft, flexible, finding a way to adapt rather than confronting head-on. In matters of the heart, listen and seek to understand, and avoid letting emotions surge up and hurt one another. For health, take care to keep the body warm in winter, especially the ears and kidneys. For home feng shui, the northern area may be given water-related elements or black and deep blue colors for harmony.
Topic overview article: What is the Bagua
