Hexagram 31 (咸 Xián / Influence): A Liu Yao Reading

Hexagram 31 (咸 Xián, often translated "Influence" or "Wooing") is the first hexagram of the second half of the I Ching. Symbol: ䷞. Above is the lake (兑 Duì); below is the mountain (艮 Gèn). The two trigrams meet, respond to each other, and the hexagram becomes the I Ching's clearest statement of mutual feeling between two parties.

If you have just cast Hexagram 31 with one or more changing lines, this essay will show you the structure of how a Liu Yao reader would approach it — what the hexagram as a whole points toward, what each of the six line positions tends to mean, and why this hexagram in particular rewards the changing-line method most translations skim past.

This is a general reading map, not a reading on your specific situation. For that, see the note at the end.

The hexagram at a glance

━━ ━━   line 6 (top)     —— Lake (兑 Duì) above
━━━━━   line 5
━━━━━   line 4
━━━━━   line 3           —— Mountain (艮 Gèn) below
━━ ━━   line 2
━━ ━━   line 1 (bottom)

• Trigrams: Lake (兑 Duì) above, Mountain (艮 Gèn) below
• Element: Lake (metal) over Mountain (earth) — earth nourishes metal, the trigrams support each other
• Core image: A young woman (Duì, the youngest daughter trigram) above a young man (Gèn, the youngest son trigram) — the courtship hexagram
• Core energy: Mutual influence, responsive feeling, the moment two sides begin to move toward each other

In classical Chinese cosmology, Xián opens the lower half of the Yìjīng — the first thirty hexagrams concern heaven-and-earth and the formation of the world; from Hexagram 31 onward, the text turns to human relationships and their unfolding. The placement is not accidental. Mutual feeling is, in the I Ching's view, the foundation of every human bond that follows.

What Hexagram 31 generally points toward

In Liu Yao practice, Hexagram 31 tends to come up when the question is about a situation where:

• Two sides are responding to each other. This is its defining mark. The hexagram does not appear for one-sided situations.
• Feeling has begun to flow, but the form it will take is not yet settled. Influence is the early phase; commitment, partnership, and structure come later (Hexagram 32 Héng, "Duration," is the next hexagram for a reason).
• The questioner has been moved by something — a person, an offer, a possibility — and is trying to read whether the movement is mutual, sustainable, or surface.
• Restraint is part of the answer. Pure attraction without restraint becomes the warning at line 6. The hexagram's deepest teaching is that mutual influence works best when both sides have a still center to return to.

It is not automatically a "yes, pursue this." A Liu Yao reader will always ask: which line is moving? Because that line tells you where in the body of mutual influence you actually are.

The six lines: a Liu Yao reading map

The Yìjīng describes Hexagram 31 through the imagery of body parts ascending, from the toe to the jaws. This is one of the most physically grounded sequences in the entire text. In Liu Yao, each line position is a distinct reading — what's true at line 2 is often the opposite of what's true at line 6.

Line 1 (bottom) — 咸其拇 Xián qí mǔ, "Influence in the big toe"

The influence has begun, but only at the lowest, most peripheral point. The questioner is moved, but the movement has not yet reached anywhere that requires action. In Liu Yao terms, this is stirring without commitment.

The reading: something has reached you, but it would be premature to act on it. The signal is real; the body has not yet caught up. Often this points to the first attraction, the first inkling of interest, the first sense that something is forming — too early to call.

Line 2 — 咸其腓 Xián qí féi, "Influence in the calves"

The calves move involuntarily. The classical commentary warns: if the calves move on their own, misfortune; if one stays still, fortune. In Liu Yao terms, line 2 is the center of the lower trigram — usually a position of influence felt inwardly but not yet acted on outwardly.

A Liu Yao reading on line 2 of Xián often points to a moment where the body wants to move but the timing isn't right. The reading is rarely "go ahead"; more often it is wait, the influence is real but moving from the calves alone produces unstable steps.

Line 3 — 咸其股 Xián qí gǔ, "Influence in the thighs"

The thighs follow whatever they are joined to. The classical text adds: holding to what follows others, going on like this brings shame. In Liu Yao practice, this is the position where the questioner has begun to be carried along by the influence rather than meeting it on their own ground.

The reading: examine whether you are still acting from your own center, or whether you are simply following the pull. A reader with this line moving is usually being asked to stop and check who is leading whom. This is the line where many readings about romance, persuasion, or peer pressure land.

Line 4 — 憧憧往來,朋從爾思 Chōngchōng wǎnglái, péng cóng ěr sī, "Restless coming and going; friends follow your thoughts"

Line 4 has crossed into the upper trigram and reached the heart's level. The classical text describes the mind in motion, oscillating, with companions tracking the oscillation. In Liu Yao practice, this is the line of mental restlessness in the presence of mutual influence — overthinking, second-guessing, courting from the head rather than the center.

The reading often points to a moment where stillness is the answer. The influence is real, but the questioner's restless thinking is preventing it from settling. The 系辞 (Xìcí, Great Treatise) gives this line one of its most famous commentaries: that all the world's coming and going returns to one stillness — the more agitated the surface, the more useful the still center underneath.

Line 5 — 咸其脢 Xián qí méi, "Influence in the back of the neck"

Line 5 is the hexagram's most committed and most settled position — the influence has moved past the heart's restlessness and reached the back of the neck, the place where intention turns into bearing. The classical commentary says: no regret.

A Liu Yao reading on line 5 of Xián tends to point to a moment of quiet commitment — not the dramatic high of new feeling, but the settled posture that comes after. The reading: the influence has taken root; what is being asked is presence, not pursuit.

Line 6 (top) — 咸其輔頰舌 Xián qí fǔ jiá shé, "Influence in the jaws, cheeks, and tongue"

The influence has risen all the way to the mouth — that is, into speech alone. The classical text gives no verdict; the absence of a verdict is itself the warning. Influence that lives only in words has lost its center.

In Liu Yao practice, a moving line at position 6 in Hexagram 31 is read carefully. It does not mean the connection is dishonest, but it points to a pattern where the talk has run ahead of the substance — declarations without grounding, promises without weight. The reading asks the questioner to bring the influence back down into the body, the action, the actual presence between the two sides.

The trigram structure: lake over mountain

A Liu Yao reading of Hexagram 31 also looks at what the two trigrams are doing in relation to each other.

• Mountain (艮 Gèn) below — stillness, the youngest son, what holds firm
• Lake (兑 Duì) above — joy, the youngest daughter, what gives openly

The mountain provides the still ground; the lake rests upon it. The hexagram's whole image is the lake above the mountain — softness above firmness, joy resting on stillness. This is the I Ching's diagram of healthy mutual influence: the still ground does not chase, the lake does not erode, and yet the two are responding to each other constantly through the rock and the water meeting at their boundary.

When a Liu Yao reader sees Hexagram 31 in a relationship question, they often ask: which trigram is the questioner, and is the questioner playing their trigram well? A questioner standing as the mountain who has begun to shift like a lake — chasing, oscillating, eroding — has lost their own ground. A questioner standing as the lake who has frozen into the mountain — holding back, refusing softness, gone still where stillness isn't called for — has stopped giving what their position is for.

This is the structural reading literary translations almost never make.

What Hexagram 31 is not

Because the imagery is intimate, Hexagram 31 is often misread. Three patterns I see often:

• It is not a guarantee of romance. The hexagram describes mutual influence; many of those influences are friendships, collaborations, or situations that do not become romantic. A casting of Xián on a creative partnership is not telling you to fall in love with your collaborator.
• It is not "you should pursue them." That reading tends to come from generic-translation interpretations. A Liu Yao reading on line 2 or line 3 of Xián usually points the opposite way: pause, check your ground, do not let the calves or the thighs lead.
• It is not separable from the question. Xián in a question about a new connection is one reading; Xián in a question about a long partnership going through a shift is another; Xián in a job-offer question reads the mutual interest between you and the hiring company. The hexagram describes the influence; the question and the changing line tell you what that influence is for.

Reading Hexagram 31 in Liu Yao vs Wilhelm

A Wilhelm-style reading of Hexagram 31 tends to gather the six line texts into a single sweep up the body — toe, calf, thigh, heart, back of neck, jaws. This is beautiful and often useful for reflection.

A Liu Yao reading does something different: it isolates the changing line and asks which level of the body the influence has actually reached for you. A questioner with a moving line at position 2 (calves) is at a very different point than one with a moving line at position 5 (back of the neck), even though they have cast the same hexagram.

Both readings can be true at once. Liu Yao does not replace the literary I Ching; it asks a sharper, more situation-specific question of the same hexagram. For more on this distinction, see From I Ching to Liu Yao: deepening your reading practice.

Hexagram 31 in non-relationship questions

It would be a mistake to file Xián purely under "love." The hexagram appears often for:

• Job offers — mutual interest between you and a company
• Creative collaborations — two parties responding to each other's work
• Negotiations — the early phase where both sides are still feeling out the shape
• Communities — joining a group, sensing whether the resonance is mutual
• Mentorship — the moment two people recognize each other across a gap of experience

The reading principles are the same. Which line is moving? Where in the body of mutual influence are you? Are you the mountain or the lake? Is the influence in the calves (early, instinctive) or the back of the neck (settled, committed) or the jaws (overflowing into talk)?

The hexagram is about the structure of mutual feeling, and mutual feeling shows up in many places besides romance.

When Xián points beyond itself

Hexagram 31 is often read alongside its classical pair, Hexagram 32 (恆 Héng, "Duration"). Xián is the moment of mutual influence; Héng is the long-term form that influence settles into. A reading where the changing lines of Xián produce Héng (or close to it) often points to a connection moving from feeling toward form — from courtship toward partnership, from interest toward commitment.

A Liu Yao reader watching this transition will read it gently. Héng is not "they will marry"; it is "the question is shifting from whether to commit to how to last." That is a different kind of question, and often a different kind of reading is appropriate at that point.

A note on what a Liu Yao reading is and isn't

A reading offers a structured reflection on the situation you bring to it. It is not a prediction of fixed outcomes, and is not a substitute for medical, legal, financial, or psychological advice. If you are facing a serious decision in any of these areas, please consult a licensed professional.

A note specific to relationship readings: a Liu Yao reading interprets your own situation, including your own situation within a relationship. It does not predict, surveil, or attempt to control another identifiable person's private actions. If you are wondering "what is being asked of me here?" the hexagram can speak; if you are wondering "what is she really thinking?" the hexagram is the wrong tool, and a careful reader will say so.

Further reading

• What is Liu Yao? The classical Chinese hexagram method — the foundation essay
• From I Ching to Liu Yao: deepening your reading practice — for readers familiar with Wilhelm
• Hexagram 1 (乾 Qián / The Creative): A Liu Yao reading — pure yáng, the contrast hexagram
• How to ask the I Ching a useful question — relevant for relationship questions in particular
• Hexagram 32 (恆 Héng / Duration): A Liu Yao reading — coming soon
• I Ching for relationships: what you can ask, what you cannot — coming soon

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A reading on your situation

If you have cast Hexagram 31 in response to a real question, the general reading map above can only go so far. The reading that matters is the one that takes your specific question, your specific changing line, and the trigram structure of the moment, and reads them together.

This is what Master Shen does. Every first-time reader is welcome to a free opening reading — a brief personal note on what the hexagram is pointing to in your situation, with no payment and no obligation.