Hexagram 21
噬嗑 Shì Kè
Biting Through
☲ Fire above ☳ Thunder
Judgment 卦辭
亨。利用獄。
Commentary
Success. It is favorable to administer justice. When unity is blocked, bite through the obstruction. The obstacle between the teeth must be eliminated. Legal proceedings, clear penalties—these restore order.
Classical Text
噬嗑卦震下離上（火雷噬嗑） 噬嗑，亨。利用獄。
Hexagram Shi He (Biting Through): Zhen below, Li above (Fire over Thunder). Biting Through. Success. It is beneficial to employ judicial proceedings.
Image 象
電雷，噬嗑。先王以明罰勅法。
Thunder and lightning. Ancient kings made the laws firm through clearly defined penalties. Light and force together: clarity about consequences enables enforcement.
Lines 爻辭
履校滅趾無咎
Feet locked in stocks, toes gone. No blame. Punishment at the beginning stops wrong early. The small penalty prevents the greater crime. Better to lose toes than continue.
Classical commentary
初九，屨校滅趾，无咎。
Initial Nine. Wearing a wooden cangue that covers the toes. No blame.
噬膚滅鼻無咎
Biting through tender meat, nose disappearing. No blame. Easy to bite through, but the action still costs something. Enforcement has consequences even when successful.
Classical commentary
六二，噬膚滅鼻，无咎。
Six in the Second. Biting through tender flesh so that the nose is submerged. No blame.
噬腊肉遇毒小吝無咎
Biting through old dried meat, encountering poison. Small humiliation, no blame. Harder material, hidden danger. The work is unpleasant, maybe shameful, but necessary.
Classical commentary
六三，噬腊肉，遇毒，小吝，无咎。
Six in the Third. Biting through dried preserved meat and encountering something toxic. Small regret. No blame.
噬乾胏得金矢利艱貞吉
Biting through gristly meat, finding metal arrowheads. Persistence in difficulty brings good fortune. Very hard work, discovering the weapon within the problem. Persevere through the difficulty.
Classical commentary
九四，噬乾胏，得金矢。利艱貞，吉。
Nine in the Fourth. Biting through dried bony meat and obtaining a metal arrowhead. Beneficial to persevere through hardship with correctness. Auspicious.
噬乾肉得黃金貞厲無咎
Biting through dried meat, finding yellow gold. Perseverance with awareness of danger. No blame. Hard work yields treasure. Remain alert to the dangers that come with the prize.
Classical commentary
六五，噬乾肉，得黃金，貞厲，无咎。
Six in the Fifth. Biting through dried meat and obtaining yellow metal. Correct yet with peril. No blame.
何校滅耳凶
Neck locked in a wooden collar, ears gone. Misfortune. Punishment at the end—you didn't learn from earlier warnings. Now hearing itself is lost. Too late for correction.
Classical commentary
上九，何校滅耳，凶。
Top Nine. Bearing a cangue that covers the ears. Misfortune.