One broken line resting atop two solid — the still lake open to the sky, joy that comes from an unguarded surface.
Dui is the trigram of the Lake, ☱: two solid yang lines below and a single broken yin line laid open across the top. That yielding line at the surface is the whole image — the calm, receptive face of a lake that lies open to the heavens, gathering their light and giving back reflection. Dui is the Joyous, the trigram of pleasure, openness, and glad exchange: the serenity of still water, the delight of easy conversation, the satisfaction of a thing that is complete and at peace with being seen.
As the last of Qian's daughters — receiving her yin line in the topmost place — Dui is the Youngest Daughter, the counterpart to Gen the youngest son, whose solid top she inverts into an open one. Its images gather around Metal and Water: the lake's still pool and the bright clarity often associated with metal in the Chinese phases, sitting a little aslant of the Western Elements. The Later Heaven arrangement places it in the West, the direction of autumn, harvest, and the mellow contentment of the year's gathering-in.
In divination Dui brings gladness, communication, and the pleasure of open hearts — but a lake's openness can also become mere surface, delight untethered from depth. Its counsel is that true joy is receptive and shared rather than grasped, the calm surface that reflects because it has nothing to hide.
The Figure
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Glyph | ☱ |
| Image | Lake |
| Attribute | Joyous, open |
| Family | Youngest daughter |
| Direction (Later Heaven) | West |
| Nearest Element | Metal / Water |