謙
Qiān · Modesty
Modesty is not smallness; it is weight that does not need to be seen.
The judgment
謙：亨，君子有終。
Modesty succeeds. A capable person finishes what they start: the only hexagram where every line is favorable.
Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex15.judgment.
The image
象曰：地中有山，謙。君子以裒多益寡，稱物平施。
A mountain inside the earth: modesty. A capable person takes from excess and adds to lack, weighing things so the giving is fair.
Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex15.image.
Modesty is not smallness; it is weight that does not need to be seen.
The six lines
Each line is a stage, from the bottom of the hexagram to the top. Open any line to read it in plain English.
初六 謙謙君子，用涉大川，吉。 Modest about being modest. Such a person can cross the great water: good fortune.
Modest about being modest. Such a person can cross the great water: good fortune.
六二 六二，鳴謙，貞吉。 Modesty that shows in your voice. Stay true and it is lucky: what is inside is audible.
Modesty that shows in your voice. Stay true and it is lucky: what is inside is audible.
九三 九三，勞謙，君子有終，吉。 Modest about your labor. A capable person finishes, and it is lucky: the work is real and does not need credit.
Modest about your labor. A capable person finishes, and it is lucky: the work is real and does not need credit.
六四 無不利，撝謙。 Nothing unfavorable. Modesty expressed in action, not only in manner.
Nothing unfavorable. Modesty expressed in action, not only in manner.
六五 不富，以其鄰，利用侵伐，無不利。 Not rich, but with your neighbors. It is even fit to correct what is out of line: nothing unfavorable.
Not rich, but with your neighbors. It is even fit to correct what is out of line: nothing unfavorable.
上六 鳴謙，利用行師，征邑國。 Modesty that is heard. It is fit to move a force, but only to put your own house in order.
Modesty that is heard. It is fit to move a force, but only to put your own house in order.