Hexagram 48 — Welling
King Wen #48 · plain-language meaning, the Image, and the classical text
The well. An inexhaustible source that serves all — keep it clear and draw from it.
What Hexagram 48 Means 白话解读
Hexagram 48 places wind (巽) beneath water (坎) — gentle influence working inward below, water finding its way through hard gaps above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Welling”: the well. An inexhaustible source that serves all — keep it clear and draw from it. Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
The Image 象傳
木上有水，井；君子以勞民勸相。
(The trigram representing) wood and above it that for water form Žing. The superior man, in accordance with this, comforts the people, and stimulates them to mutual helpfulness.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
Water drawn up over wood: the well. The wise labour for the people and encourage them to aid one another.— plain-English rendering by The Hexagrams2
Hexagram 48 in Real Questions 實問實答
With money and work
Welling describes the well. An inexhaustible source that serves all — keep it clear and draw from it — and that is the posture the tradition recommends for practical matters under this figure: gentle influence working inward, held inside a larger setting of water finding its way through hard gaps. It names a shape of timing, not a sum.
For a decision
If you cast Welling about a choice, the figure's counsel is the same movement it pictures: the well. An inexhaustible source that serves all — keep it clear and draw from it. When lines move in your cast, read them against this base — the moving lines show which part of the figure is awake for you, and the changed hexagram shows where it is heading.
Questions About Hexagram 48
What does 井 (jǐng) mean?
Hexagram 48 of the I Ching is named 井 (jǐng), usually rendered "Welling" in English editions. Its figure is built from wind (巽) below and water (坎) above — gentle influence working inward beneath water finding its way through hard gaps.
Is hexagram 48 a good omen?
The received text of hexagram 48 is warm: it contains one occurrence of 吉 (good fortune), 1 of 凶 (misfortune), and 1 of 無咎 (no blame). The classical verdict is broadly favourable — with the lines' own conditions attached.
What does hexagram 48 mean in love?
In a relationship reading, Welling points to the well. An inexhaustible source that serves all — keep it clear and draw from it. The figure pairs wind (巽) beneath water (坎) — gentle influence working inward meeting water finding its way through hard gaps — which is the traditional picture of how this energy behaves between two people. For how to phrase a love question before casting, see our guide to asking the I Ching about love.
What does hexagram 48 mean for career and money?
Career and money questions read Welling through the figure itself: wind (巽) below, water (坎) above — gentle influence working inward held inside water finding its way through hard gaps. The plain reading: The well. An inexhaustible source that serves all — keep it clear and draw from it. The text carries 1 mention of 吉 (good fortune) and 1 of 凶 (misfortune), so it is read as workable — provided the conduct the lines describe is kept.
What do the changing lines of hexagram 48 mean?
A cast of hexagram 48 can produce moving lines. Each of the six lines has its own statement (爻辭) in the classical text below, read from the bottom up, and a moving line is read as the part of the figure that is awake for your question. When a line moves it turns into its opposite, and the whole figure becomes a second hexagram: changing every line of 48 gives hexagram 21, 噬嗑 (Gnawing Bite). Every line also has a page of its own on this site — Line 1 through Line 6 under this hexagram — with the classical Chinese and Legge's translation side by side.
How is hexagram 48 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 48 gives hexagram 21 — 噬嗑 (Gnawing Bite). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 47 — 困 (Confining). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 38 — 睽 (Polarising).
Cast it yourself
Shake the tube, watch your own coins fall.
- The hexagram's classical meaning — judgment and all six lines
- Moving lines marked — but not read for you
- No account, no email, nothing to pay
Get the reading, not just the text
Same cast, read all the way through:
- Every line read for you — what each moving line means inside your question
- The changed hexagram — where your situation is heading, and how to read the turn
- A closing that answers you directly — act, wait, or say it out loud
New to casting? How it works · All 64 hexagrams
Related Hexagrams 錯綜互
The Classical Text 經文
改邑不改井，無喪無得，往來井井；汔至，亦未繘井，羸其瓶，凶。
(Looking at) Jing, (we think of) how (the site of) a town may be changed, while (the fashion of) its wells undergoes no change. (The water of a well) never disappears and never receives (any great) increase, and those who come and those who go can draw and enjoy the benefit. If (the drawing) have nearly been accomplished, but, before the rope has quite reached the water, the bucket is broken, this is evil.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
井泥不食，舊井無禽。
The first SIX, divided, shows a well so muddy that men will not drink of it; or an old well to which neither birds (nor other creatures) resort.
井谷射鮒，甕敝漏。
The second NINE, undivided, shows a well from which by a hole the water escapes and flows away to the shrimps (and such small creatures among the grass), or one the water of which leaks away from a broken basket.
井渫不食，為我心惻；可用汲，王明，並受其福。
The third NINE, undivided, shows a well, which has been cleared out, but is not used. Our hearts are sorry for this, for the water might be drawn out and used. If the king were (only) intelligent, both he and we might receive the benefit of it.
井甃，無咎。
The fourth SIX, divided, shows a well, the lining of which is well laid. There will be no error.
井冽，寒泉食。
The fifth NINE, undivided, shows a clear, limpid well, (the waters from) whose cold spring are (freely) drunk.
井收勿幕，有孚元吉。
The topmost SIX, divided, shows (the water from) the well brought to the top, which is not allowed to be covered. This suggests the idea of sincerity. There will be great good fortune.
Line by Line 逐爻细读
1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1899), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text.2 The Image (象傳) is an ancient text in the public domain; its plain-English gloss here is original to The Hexagrams, not a quotation from any copyrighted edition. · For reflection and entertainment — not financial, medical, or life advice.