兌Dui.The Joyous.
Lake joins Lake: open exchange renews both sides through conversation, shared practice and sincere pleasure. Dui concerns the persuasive power of joy—and the firmness required to keep enjoyment truthful rather than seductive.
Let exchange create energy without purchasing agreement.
Dui means Lake, joy, speech and mutual stimulation. Two lakes connected together do not merely consume one another; they replenish through open exchange.
The hexagram distinguishes sincere enjoyment from manufactured approval. Conversation, encouragement and shared study can mobilise people—but pleasure severed from correctness becomes flattery, temptation or manipulation.
Lake above. Lake below.
Firm lines occupy the centre while yielding lines remain outside. The pattern is open and approachable on the surface, yet inwardly anchored.
Joy succeeds when it remains firm and correct.
The governing proposition
兌：亨，利貞。
The Joyous: success. Constancy is beneficial.
Firm within, yielding without
兌，說也。剛中而柔外，說以利貞，是以順乎天，而應乎人。說以先民，民忘其勞；說以犯難，民忘其死；說之大，民勸矣哉！
Joy is firm at the centre and yielding outside. Correct joy accords with Heaven and responds to people, encouraging effort even through difficulty.
Friends discuss and practise together
麗澤，兌；君子以朋友講習。
Lakes joined together: The Joyous. The cultivated person joins friends for discussion and shared practice.
Six sources—and distortions—of joy.
Harmonious joyGood fortune · Changes to 47 困
初九：和兌，吉。
Joy arises without hidden bargaining or dependence. Simple inward harmony makes conduct trustworthy.
小象傳 · 和兌之吉，行未疑也. Harmonious joy is auspicious because the conduct gives no cause for doubt.
Sincere joyGood fortune; regret disappears · Changes to 17 隨
九二：孚兌，吉，悔亡。
Trust makes pleasure durable. Enjoyment aligned with inner sincerity requires no performance or later correction.
小象傳 · 孚兌之吉，信志也. Sincere joy is auspicious because the intention is trustworthy.
Joy that comes from outsideMisfortune · Changes to 43 夬
六三：來兌，凶。
External stimulation is invited to fill an internal absence. Dependence on attention, approval or pleasure leaves the centre ungoverned.
小象傳 · 來兌之凶，位不當也. The misfortune of incoming pleasure comes from an unsuitable position.
Deliberate about joyNot yet at rest; separating from illness brings happiness · Changes to 60 節
九四：商兌，未寧，介疾有喜。
Discern which pleasure nourishes and which corrupts. Unease is useful when it helps establish a clean boundary.
小象傳 · 九四之喜，有慶也. The joy of the fourth line brings something worth celebrating.
Trust what strips awayDanger · Changes to 54 歸妹
九五：孚于剝，有厲。
Authority is vulnerable to charming influences that erode it. Sincerity without discernment can be exploited.
小象傳 · 孚于剝，位正當也. The danger reaches one occupying the correct and responsible position.
Attracting joyThe influence draws others · Changes to 10 履
上六：引兌。
Pleasure becomes an instrument of attraction. The missing verdict forces a question: are others being invited into truth or merely drawn by gratification?
小象傳 · 上六引兌，未光也. Attracting through joy has not yet become bright.
Use joy to sustain truthful participation.
Work and leadership
Create energy through meaningful progress, dialogue and shared learning—not through praise that conceals standards or difficulty.
Relationships
Choose the pleasure of honest exchange over approval-seeking. Trust grows when warmth and boundaries coexist.
Timing and decisions
Notice what feels attractive, then test whether the attraction preserves judgment, reciprocity and long-term integrity.
Dui is aligned when enjoyment strengthens sincerity, learning and action.
Aligned expression
- Warmth rests on a firm centre.
- Conversation improves practice.
- Encouragement makes effort sustainable.
- Pleasure remains compatible with truth.
Distorted expression
- Approval replaces judgment.
- Flattery disguises extraction.
- External stimulation governs the centre.
- Attraction becomes manipulation.