Retreat — strategic withdrawal made at the right time.
When dark forces rise, a timely retreat preserves your strength. This is not defeat but wise distance, kept with dignity. Withdraw early and on your own terms.
retreatwithdrawaltimingself-preservation
Retreat places Heaven (strong, creative) above Mountain (still, resting). The interplay of these two trigrams gives the hexagram its character.
The Classical Textoriginal Chinese
The Judgment · 卦辞
亨，小利贞。
The Image · 大象
天下有山，遁；君子以远小人，不恶而严。
The Six Lines · 爻辞
- 初六遁尾，厉，勿用有攸往。象曰：遁尾之厉，不往何灾也。
- 六二执之用黄牛之革，莫之胜说。象曰：执之用黄牛，固志也。
- 九三系遁，有疾厉，畜臣妾吉。象曰：系遁之厉，有疾惫也。畜臣妾吉，不可大事也。
- 九四好遁，君子吉，小人否。象曰：君子好遁，小人否也。
- 九五嘉遁，贞吉。象曰：嘉遁贞吉，以正志也。
- 上九肥遁，无不利。象曰：肥遁无不利，无所疑也。
The judgment, image and line texts above are quoted from the original Zhou Yi. A modern Chinese translation of the full classic is available on the original-text page.