The cauldron — refinement that transforms raw matter into nourishment.
A vessel of culture cooks the raw into the nourishing — the work of transformation and service. Establish what is well-founded, then refine and elevate it. Great works feed the many.
transformationrefinementnourishmentculture
The Cauldron places Fire (clinging, light-giving) above Wind (gentle, penetrating). The interplay of these two trigrams gives the hexagram its character.
The Classical Textoriginal Chinese
The Judgment · 卦辞
元吉，亨。
The Image · 大象
木上有火，鼎；君子以正位凝命。
The Six Lines · 爻辞
- 初六鼎颠趾，利出否，得妾以其子，无咎。象曰：鼎颠趾，未悖也。利出否，以从贵也。
- 九二鼎有实，我仇有疾，不我能即，吉。象曰：鼎有实，慎所之也。我仇有疾，终无尤也。
- 九三鼎耳革，其行塞，雉膏不食，方雨亏悔，终吉。象曰：鼎耳革，失其义也。
- 九四鼎折足，覆公餗，其形渥，凶。象曰：覆公餗，信如何也。
- 六五鼎黄耳金铉，利贞。象曰：鼎黄耳，中以为实也。
- 上九鼎玉铉，大吉，无不利。象曰：玉铉在上，刚柔节也。
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.