TL;DR: The Hexagram Thiên Lôi Vô Vọng (無妄) is number 25 of the 64 hexagrams of the Zhou Yi, with Càn (Heaven) above and Chấn (Thunder) below. The Judgment text reads: 无妄：元亨。利貞。其匪正有眚，不利有攸往. A close rendering is that smooth success is tied to what is upright; if one deviates from what is upright, there may be trouble, and it is not favorable to set out. A reflection from Nhật Nguyệt: it may be worth reviewing whether what you are doing rests in part on expectations without a solid basis, or has drifted from a shared agreement.
What number is the Thiên Lôi Vô Vọng hexagram, and how is it structured?
The Thiên Lôi Vô Vọng hexagram (無妄) is the 25th of the 64 hexagrams in the Zhou Yi order. The hexagram consists of Càn (Heaven) as the upper trigram and Chấn (Thunder) as the lower trigram, giving the image of thunder beneath heaven.
The name Vô Vọng means not false or empty, not deluded, not straying from the natural essence of things. This is one of the hexagrams most discussed in the Confucian tradition because it is tied to the word "sincerity" and the principle of "correctness".
By tradition, the classic portion of the Zhou Yi is attributed to Fu Xi, King Wen and the Duke of Zhou, while the Ten Wings (including the Thoán truyện and Tượng truyện) are attributed to Confucius; modern scholarship does not regard those attributions as proven, and places the classic portion around the Western Zhou period, with the commentaries around the 5th to 2nd centuries BCE.
What do the original words of the Vô Vọng hexagram say?
This is the layer of the classic text, transcribed exactly according to the current Zhou Yi text. The quái từ (judgment) and the six hào từ (line statements) of the Vô Vọng hexagram are as follows.
Quái từ (judgment): 无妄：元亨。利貞。其匪正有眚，不利有攸往。
Read in Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation: Vô Vọng: nguyên hanh, lợi trinh. Kỳ phỉ chính hữu sảnh, bất lợi hữu du vãng. Close meaning: Vô Vọng is greatly successful, favorable in correctness. If not correct, there is disaster, and it is not favorable to set out.
Hào Sơ cửu (first line): 初九：无妄，往吉。 Read: Sơ cửu: vô vọng, vãng cát. Close meaning: Vô vọng, setting out is auspicious.
Hào Lục nhị (second line): 六二：不耕穫，不菑畬，則利有攸往。 Read: Lục nhị: bất canh hoạch, bất tri dư, tắc lợi hữu du vãng. Close meaning: Not plowing yet reaping, not clearing land yet the field is already made, then it is favorable to set out.
Hào Lục tam (third line): 六三：无妄之災，或繫之牛，行人之得，邑人之災。 Read: Lục tam: vô vọng chi tai, hoặc hệ chi ngưu, hành nhân chi đắc, ấp nhân chi tai. Close meaning: Disaster not caused by false hopes, someone tethers a cow, a traveler gains it, the people of the town meet disaster.
Hào Cửu tứ (fourth line): 九四：可貞，无咎。 Read: Cửu tứ: khả trinh, vô cữu. Close meaning: One may keep correct, without fault.
Hào Cửu ngũ (fifth line): 九五：无妄之疾，勿藥有喜。 Read: Cửu ngũ: vô vọng chi tật, vật dược hữu hỷ. Close meaning: An illness not caused by false hopes, do not use medicine and there will be joy.
Hào Thượng cửu (top line): 上九：无妄，行有眚，无攸利。 Read: Thượng cửu: vô vọng, hành hữu sảnh, vô du lợi. Close meaning: Vô vọng, acting brings disaster, nothing is favorable.
What do the Thoán truyện and Tượng truyện say about the Vô Vọng hexagram?
The Thoán truyện and Tượng truyện belong to the Ten Wings, not the classic text; tradition attributes them to Confucius, while modern scholarship places them around the 5th to 2nd centuries BCE.
Thoán truyện: 无妄，剛自外來，而為主於內。動而健，剛中而應，大亨以正，天之命也。其匪正有眚，不利有攸往。无妄之往，何之矣？天命不佑，行矣哉？
Close meaning: Vô Vọng, the firm comes from outside and becomes master within. Moving and strong, firm and central and responding, greatly successful through correctness, this is the mandate of heaven. If not correct there is disaster, and it is not favorable to set out. The going of Vô Vọng, where does it go? Heaven's mandate does not help it, how can it go?
Đại Tượng (Tượng truyện): 天下雷行，物與无妄；先王以茂對時，育萬物。
Close meaning: Under heaven thunder moves, all things follow one another without false hopes; the former kings accordingly richly responded to the seasons and nurtured all things.
Tiểu Tượng for each line:
- Sơ cửu: 无妄之往，得志也. (The going of vô vọng, attaining one's aim.)
- Lục nhị: 不耕穫，未富也. (Not plowing yet reaping, not yet wealthy.)
- Lục tam: 行人得牛，邑人災也. (The traveler gains the cow, the people of the town meet disaster.)
- Cửu tứ: 可貞无咎，固有之也. (One may keep correct without fault, this is inherent.)
- Cửu ngũ: 无妄之藥，不可試也. (The medicine of vô vọng, one must not try it.)
- Thượng cửu: 无妄之行，窮之災也. (The action of vô vọng, the disaster of exhaustion.)
What do the classical commentaries say about the Vô Vọng hexagram?
This is the layer of commentary with named authors. Below are the annotations of Wang Bi (in the Zhou Yi zhengyi), translated closely in meaning; the portion by Zhu Xi (Zhou Yi benyi) for this hexagram cannot currently be separated out, so it is not cited.
Wang Bi's annotations:
- On the phrase "firm and central and responding" in the Thoán truyện: 謂五也. (It refers to the fifth line.)
- On the phrase "greatly successful through correctness, this is the mandate of heaven": the firm comes from outside and becomes master within, moving with greater strength. "Firm and central and responding", dignified and upright, selfish desire does not operate, how could there be false hope? If it causes the way of false hope to be extinguished and the way of no false hope to be completed, what is this if not great success and favorable correctness? The firm comes from outside and becomes master within, so the way of the soft and crooked fades away. Moving with greater strength, so the way of the firm and upright runs through. "Firm and central and responding", so bright virtue shines forth. Therefore it says "greatly successful through correctness". The teaching and mandate of heaven, how could one violate it? How could one hold false hope? Therefore if not correct there is disaster, and "it is not favorable to set out".
- On the passage "if not correct there is disaster... how can it go": if not correct there is disaster, and one does not seek to correct oneself to follow what is correct, but instead wants somewhere to set out; being in a time when one cannot hold false hope, yet wanting to use incorrectness to set out, then where exactly is one going; heaven's mandate does not help, and that is the end of it!
- On "the former kings accordingly richly responded to the seasons and nurtured all things": mậu means flourishing. All things alike do not dare to hold false hope, and only then can all things preserve their own nature and destiny, responding to the seasons and nurturing things, nothing is more flourishing than this.
- On Sơ cửu: the substance is firm yet it is below, using nobility to descend to the lowly, acting without violating what is true, so setting out attains one's aim.
- On Lục nhị: not plowing yet reaping, not clearing land yet the field is already made, this stands for what is already done without one having built it. Not monopolizing the fine portion, this is fulfilling the way of a minister, so "it is favorable to set out".
- On Lục tam: a yin line in a yang position, acting against the way of modesty and compliance, this is the "vô vọng" that therefore becomes disaster. The cow is the wealth of plowing and cultivation. The second line does not plow yet reaps, "it is favorable to set out", while the third line does work that is not compliant, so "someone tethers a cow", this is what the office in charge considers a gain and what the other person considers a disaster, therefore it says "the traveler's gain, the town people's disaster".
- On Cửu tứ: in the time of "vô vọng", a yang line in a yin position, using firmness to ride softness, treading into modesty and compliance, near the most honored station, therefore one can accept what is correct, hold firmly to what one holds and be "without fault".
- On Cửu ngũ: it is in the honored position, the master of vô vọng. Those below are all "vô vọng", the harm is not from oneself yet one takes medicine, this is a serious illness. A disaster not caused by false hope, not treated yet recovering on its own, using medicine without false hope is inauspicious, therefore it says "do not use medicine and there will be joy".
- On Thượng cửu: at the extreme of what cannot be hoped for, one should only be still and keep oneself, therefore one cannot act.
When the Vô Vọng hexagram comes up asking about business, how should it be understood?
Nhật Nguyệt's reading: the quái từ says "nguyên hanh, lợi trinh", meaning success is tied to correctness; "kỳ phỉ chính hữu sảnh, bất lợi hữu du vãng" is a warning that if one strays from correctness, setting out is not favorable. Wang Bi annotates that when the way of the soft and crooked fades away, the way of the firm and upright runs through, so business is tied to an upright foundation, not to tricks.
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: when asking about business, review whether any part of your plan rests on expectations without basis, and whether any part strays from agreements or from the common rules of the game. If so, adjust before expanding. This is a suggestion for self-review, not a promise about outcomes.
When the Vô Vọng hexagram comes up asking about love, how is it understood?
Nhật Nguyệt's reading: the Lục tam line says "vô vọng chi tai", disaster not caused by false hopes, together with the image of a tethered cow, a traveler gaining it, the town people meeting disaster. This is an image of unwanted gossip and conflict, not a verdict on destiny.
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: in love, keep sincerity, say clearly to each other what you hope for, and guard against misunderstandings coming from a third party. If there is gossip, separate what you actually know from what you have only heard told. Do not use the hexagram to conclude whether a relationship will stay or end.
When the Vô Vọng hexagram comes up asking about money, how should it be read?
Nhật Nguyệt's reading: the Lục nhị line says "bất canh hoạch, bất tri dư, tắc lợi hữu du vãng", and Wang Bi annotates that this stands for what is already done without one having built it, not monopolizing the fine portion. This is the context of a position within a system, not a promise of profit.
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: with money, distinguish clearly the share you receive from work already done from the share you hope to gain on top. The quái từ has warned "bất lợi hữu du vãng" when one strays from correctness, so avoid investments you cannot explain to yourself by an upright rationale. This is only a suggestion for weighing things yourself, not investment advice.
When the Vô Vọng hexagram comes up worrying about health, how should it be understood?
Nhật Nguyệt's reading: the Cửu ngũ line says "vô vọng chi tật, vật dược hữu hỷ", and Wang Bi annotates that a disaster not caused by false hope is not treated yet recovers on its own, and using medicine without false hope is inauspicious. The Tiểu Tượng writes "vô vọng chi dược, bất khả thí dã". This is a discussion within the Yi system about treatment when the cause is not one's own fault, not a medical prescription.
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: if you are worried about your health, what needs doing is to see a doctor and follow the guidance of a qualified professional, not to take medicine on your own guess. The hexagram cannot replace a medical diagnosis.
When the Vô Vọng hexagram comes up in a leadership position, how is it understood?
Nhật Nguyệt's reading: the Đại Tượng writes "thiên hạ lôi hành, vật dữ vô vọng; tiên vương dĩ mậu đối thời, dục vạn vật", and Wang Bi annotates that only when all things alike do not dare to hold false hope can they preserve their own nature and destiny, and responding to the seasons and nurturing things is unsurpassed. This is the image of a leader responding to the times and nurturing those below.
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: a leader should set clear rules so that subordinates do not have to guess at intentions, and should keep their own part exactly as promised. The Thượng cửu line says "hành hữu sảnh, vô du lợi", and Wang Bi annotates that at the extreme of what cannot be hoped for one should only be still and keep oneself, so avoid expansion decisions once things have gone too far.
Quick reference table: what does the Thiên Lôi Vô Vọng hexagram consist of?
| Aspect | Content |
|---|---|
| Position among the 64 hexagrams | 25 |
| Name in Chinese characters | 無妄 |
| Symbol | ䷘ |
| English name | Innocence |
| Upper trigram (outer) | Càn (Heaven), element Metal, direction Northwest |
| Lower trigram (inner) | Chấn (Thunder), element Wood, direction East |
| Six lines, first line at the bottom | first yang, second yin, third yin, fourth yang, fifth yang, top yang |
| Image | Thunder moving beneath heaven, all things following their natural course. |
| Interpretation | Speaks of sincerity, without calculating against what is right. The emphasis is on doing one's own part and letting the outcome come of itself. Seeking beyond one's lot often gives rise to unwanted trouble. |
The figures in the table match the results of the lookup tools on Nhật Nguyệt.
Overview article on the topic: What the I Ching is and how to look up the 64 hexagrams
One point needs stating clearly: the line statements of this hexagram carry the social norms of ancient times, such as the matter of a minister keeping the way toward a ruler in the Lục nhị line, or the matter of the tethered cow and the town people in the Lục tam line. That is the historical context of the text, not advice to be applied directly to life today.
The study of the I Ching in general and of the Vô Vọng hexagram in particular is the study of an ancient philosophical system, and at the same time a way to look again at how one lives and behaves. As for origins, modern scholarship places the classic portion of the Zhou Yi in the Western Zhou period, around the late 9th century BCE; the commentaries in the Ten Wings are placed around the 5th to 2nd centuries BCE. Tradition attributes the classic portion to Fu Xi, King Wen and the Duke of Zhou, and the Ten Wings to Confucius; modern scholarship does not regard those attributions as proven.
