蒙
4. Youthful Folly
méng; Learning
Judgment
蒙：亨。匪我求童蒙，童蒙求我。初筮告，再三渎，渎则不告。利贞。
Success. It is not I who seek the young fool; the young fool seeks me. At the first oracle I inform; asked twice or thrice, it is importunity—no answer. Perseverance furthers.
Image
山下出泉，蒙；君子以果行育德。
A spring wells up at the foot of the mountain: the image of youth. The noble person fosters character through decisive action.
Lines
- Line 1, yin (six)
初六：发蒙，利用刑人，用说桎梏，以往吝。
To make a fool develop, discipline is useful—but remove the fetters. Education needs structure, not shackles.
- Line 2, yang (nine)
九二：包蒙吉；纳妇吉；子克家。
To bear with fools in kindness brings good fortune. Including learners of every level builds the house.
- Line 3, yin (six)
六三：勿用取女，见金夫，不有躬，无攸利。
Do not take the one who, seeing a man of gold, loses herself. Don't be seduced by surface glitter—salary, status, brands.
- Line 4, yin (six)
六四：困蒙，吝。
Entangled folly brings humiliation. Isolated ignorance is the most dangerous: seek a teacher.
- Line 5, yin (six)
六五：童蒙，吉。
Childlike folly brings good fortune. Beginner's mind is an asset.
- Line 6, yang (nine)
上九：击蒙，不利为寇，利御寇。
In punishing folly, it does not further to commit transgressions; it furthers to prevent them. Correct errors without inflicting harm.
In the enterprise
The hexagram of learning organisations, talent development—and of the advisory relationship itself. 'Asked twice or thrice, no answer': ask sincerely and once; repeatedly re-asking until the answer pleases is self-deception.
Psychological lens
Resonates with beginner's mind and deliberate practice; re-asking until satisfied is a textbook case of confirmation bias.
Related hexagrams
24. 复 Return
Lines 2–4 and 3–5: the hidden dynamics inside the situation.Opposite
49. 革 Revolution
Every line reversed: the shadow side and blind spots.Inverse
3. 屯 Difficulty at the Beginning
The figure turned upside down: the counterpart's or stakeholder's view.King Wen pair
3. 屯 Difficulty at the Beginning
Situations in the library that use this hexagram
- Setting up mentoring Enterprise, Line 2, yang (nine)
- A star hire who doesn't fit the culture Enterprise, Line 3, yin (six)
- Cultivating an innovation culture Enterprise, Line 5, yin (six)
- Leaders lacking digital literacy Enterprise, Judgment
- Over-control stifling innovation Enterprise, Line 1, yin (six)
- Not knowing what you really want Individuals, Judgment
- When to seek professional help Individuals, Line 4, yin (six)
- Learning a new skill (e.g. Chinese) Individuals, Line 5, yin (six)
- Great on paper, no spark Individuals, Line 3, yin (six)
- A child under academic pressure Individuals, Line 1, yin (six)
- Respecting a child's choices Individuals, Judgment
- Teaching children about money Individuals, Line 2, yang (nine)
- Tension with a supervisor Individuals, Line 6, yang (nine)
- A foreigner learning Chinese Individuals, Line 5, yin (six)
Situation readings are a reflective framework for discussion—not predictions and not a substitute for professional advice.