Overview
Decrease — 山泽损 (Sun) — reduction.
The Hexagram
- Upper Trigram: Gen Mountain
- Lower Trigram: Dui Lake
- Chinese Name: 山泽损 (Sun)
- English Name: Decrease
- Key Meanings: Reduction. Mountain above lake — giving up the lesser for the greater.
The Judgment (Guà Cí)
Decrease combined with sincerity brings supreme good fortune without blame.
The Image (Xiàng Cí)
At the foot of the mountain, the lake: the image of Decrease. Thus the superior man controls his anger and restrains his instincts.
Symbolism Deep Dive
Mountain over Lake. Mountain (Gen, the high, the accumulated) rises above Lake (Dui, the low, the diminishing). In the natural image, the mountain is increased by the lake’s evaporation — the lake decreases, the mountain grows. Decrease is not mere loss; it is sacrifice in service of a higher purpose. The lake gives its water to nourish the mountain’s vegetation. The superior man ‘controls his anger and restrains his instincts’ — decrease begins with self-restraint, the voluntary reduction of reactive impulses.
Modern Application
Sun addresses the discipline of letting go. The budget cut that enables strategic investment. The habit sacrificed for health. The ego surrendered for relationship. Modern application: minimalism as a spiritual practice. Time management as subtraction, not addition. The leader who reduces their own compensation to save jobs. Decrease ‘combined with sincerity brings supreme good fortune’ — sacrifice that is genuine (not performative) generates trust and long-term prosperity. The key: decrease must serve increase. The lake dries; the mountain greens.
Key Themes
- Each theme here extracted from the hexagram’s core teaching
“The I Ching Decoded” video series — Day 45.