頤Yi.Nourishment.
Mountain rests above Thunder, forming the image of an open mouth. Yi examines what sustains body, mind, character and community—and the quality of what we consume and provide.
Observe what is being nourished—and how you seek nourishment for yourself.
Yi places Mountain above Thunder. The outer shape resembles jaws: firm lines enclose a receptive centre.
Nourishment includes food, information, language, attention, money and institutional support.
The central question is whether the source, recipient and method of nourishment are correct.
Thunder within. Mountain without.
Movement below and stillness above govern intake and expression. Discipline at the mouth protects both body and character.
Observe intake. Govern speech. Nourish correctly. Support life.
Yi makes nourishment a moral and strategic discipline: examine what is fed, what feeds you and whether the exchange sustains the right life.
Act without fabrication
Remove the private story, manipulative agenda and imagined guarantee. Meet the actual situation directly.
Govern appetite and expression
What enters and leaves the mouth shapes the whole person and system.
Make nourishment correct
Support must strengthen the right life rather than deepen dependency.
Do not force an exhausted course
When timing or direction is wrong, further action creates error even if the original intention felt pure.
Image principle: Thunder below Mountain forms Nourishment. The cultivated person is careful in speech and measured in food and drink.
Correct nourishment sustains both self and community.
The governing proposition
頤：貞吉。觀頤，自求口實。
Nourishment. Correctness brings good fortune. Observe nourishment and seek the substance of the mouth for yourself.
Stored capacity should eventually serve beyond private comfort.
Observe what and whom you nourish
頤，貞吉，養正則吉也。觀頤，觀其所養也；自求口實，觀其自養也。天地養萬物，聖人養賢，以及萬民；頤之時大矣哉！
Correct nourishment brings good fortune; observe what is supported and how you sustain yourself.
Heaven and Earth nourish all beings; wise leadership nourishes worthy people so benefit reaches the many.
Guard speech and regulate intake
山下有雷，頤；君子以慎言語，節飲食。
Thunder below Mountain forms Nourishment. The cultivated person is careful with words and measured in eating and drinking.
Both consumption and expression require discipline.
Six patterns of nourishment.
The lines examine envy, dependency, corrupt intake, legitimate support and the burden of becoming a source for others.
Abandoning the sacred turtleDo not trade inner capacity for envy · Changes to 23 剝
初九：舍爾靈龜，觀我朵頤，凶。
Danger is present; stop before strength collides with the obstacle. Early restraint preserves power.
小象傳 · 無妄之往，得志也.Going forward without falsity fulfils the intention.
Inverted nourishmentDo not seek support from the wrong direction · Changes to 41 損
六二：顛頤，拂經，于丘頤，征凶。
When movement is not yet safe, disable the vehicle rather than trusting impulse. Centred restraint brings no blame.
小象傳 · 不耕穫，未富也.Not ploughing for the harvest means one has not set the mind on enrichment.
Nourishment contrary to the wayA corrupt diet cannot sustain life · Changes to 22 賁
六三：拂頤，貞凶，十年勿用，無攸利。
Power may now move, but difficult correctness and disciplined training remain essential. Practise the carriage and defence before setting out.
小象傳 · 行人得牛，邑人災也.The traveller gains the ox while the people of the town suffer the calamity.
The tiger watches intenselySerious desire can serve a worthy source · Changes to 21 噬嗑
六四：顛頤，吉。虎視眈眈，其欲逐逐，無咎。
Shape powerful tendencies while they are still young and manageable. Prevention is easier than forceful correction later.
小象傳 · 六四元吉，有喜也.The great good fortune of the fourth line brings joy.
Dwelling in correctnessAccept limits while relying on the right source · Changes to 42 益
六五：拂經，居貞吉，不可涉大川。
Neutralise the driving force rather than fighting every outward symptom. Structural restraint produces good fortune.
小象傳 · 六五之吉，有慶也.The good fortune of the fifth line is cause for celebration.
The source of nourishmentResponsibility makes great passage possible · Changes to 24 復
上九：由頤，厲吉，利涉大川。
Restraint has completed its work; accumulated strength can now move through a broad path. Release is timely and progress follows.
小象傳 · 何天之衢，道大行也.The highway of Heaven means the Way proceeds on a great scale.
Choose what deserves nourishment, regulate intake and build responsible self-support.
Work and leadership
Use Yi when health, attention, morale or capability depends on what is repeatedly consumed and reinforced.
- Build skill before increasing exposure.
- Study precedent and strengthen judgment.
- Define the conditions for release.
Relationships
Speak and act without hidden tests, manufactured drama or claims of innocence that evade responsibility.
- State the real intention plainly.
- Accept that undeserved difficulty can occur.
- Do not prescribe a cure for every discomfort.
Timing and decisions
Yi asks whether the source, recipient and method of support are correct and sustainable.
- Check whether the course is objectively correct.
- Allow natural processes to resolve themselves.
- Separate responsibility from random consequence.
Yi is constructive when nourishment develops capacity, discernment and responsible independence.
Aligned expression
- Motive is free from manipulation.
- Conduct remains answerable to reality.
- Intervention is limited to what is needed.
- Uncontrolled events are not personalised.
Distorted expression
- Naïveté is mistaken for innocence.
- Good intention excuses poor judgment.
- Chance misfortune becomes invented guilt.
- Sincere action continues after its time.