頤中有物，噬而後通
先看圖像，再讀文字。Read the image before the words.
雷電噬嗑
(The trigram representing) thunder and that for lightning form Shi Ke.
先王以明罰敕法。
The ancient kings, in accordance with this, framed their penalties with intelligence, and promulgated their laws.
雷電合而為噬嗑；先王由此體會，要明示刑罰、整飭法令。雷以動之，電以明之，二者相輔，纔是治法的完整道理。
(The trigram representing) thunder and that for lightning form Shi Ke. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, framed their penalties with intelligence, and promulgated their laws.
先讀經文，再讀《彖傳》如何解釋卦辭。The received text, then the Tuan commentary on it.
噬嗑，亨。利用獄。
噬嗑卦，亨通，利於施用刑獄。口中有物阻塞，必須咬合才能通。對照人事，障礙須以果斷的懲處清除。
Shi Ke indicates successful progress (in the condition of things which it supposes). It will be advantageous to use legal constraints.
頤中有物曰噬嗑。噬嗑而亨。剛柔分，動而明，雷電合而章。柔得中而上行，雖不當位，利用獄也。
口中有物叫做噬嗑。咬合則通。剛柔分明，動（震）而明（離），雷電合一而文采章顯。柔得中位而上行（六五），雖然位不當（陰居陽位），利於施用刑獄。
There is something between the jaws of the mouth, hence comes the name of Shi Ke (Union by means of biting through the intervening article). The biting through this article gives free course.
六條線各有一句判斷。閱讀次序初→上；卦象由下而上，看左側的卦。One statement per line, read from the first line to the top. The figure is drawn bottom-up — watch the rail.
屨校滅趾，無咎。
腳上戴著刑具（屨校），淹沒了腳趾，無咎。輕罪受小懲，是教訓的開始，及早警止，所以無咎。
The first NINE shows one with his feet in the stocks, and deprived of his toes. There will be no error.
屨校滅趾，不行也。
腳上枷鎖淹沒腳趾，是不能行走（即不能再犯）。
噬膚滅鼻，無咎。
咬肉皮，淹沒了鼻子，無咎。柔而中正，咬輕軟之物（皮膚）尚須深入（滅鼻），比喻施刑明斷不留情面，因此無過。
The second SIX shows one biting through the soft flesh, and going down to the nose. There will be no error.
噬膚滅鼻，乘剛也。
咬皮膚淹沒鼻子，是乘於剛之上。
噬腊肉，遇毒，小吝，無咎。
咬乾硬的腊肉，遇到毒味，小有憾惜，無咎。施刑於頑強之徒會遇阻礙，小有不快但能堅持，便無咎。
The third SIX shows one gnawing dried meat, and meeting with what is disagreeable. There will be slight occasion for regret, but no (great) error.
遇毒，位不當也。
遇毒，是位不當。
噬乾胏，得金矢，利艱貞，吉。
咬乾肉骨，得到金矢（堅硬而正直之物），利於在艱苦中守正，吉。陽剛而正，能斷大事又得堅器相助。
The fourth NINE shows one gnawing the flesh dried on the bone, and getting the pledges of money and arrows. It will be advantageous to him to realize the difficulty of his task and be firm — in which case there will be good fortune.
利艱貞吉，未光也。
利於艱貞之吉，是其志未發光大。
噬乾肉，得黃金，貞厲，無咎。
咬乾肉，得到黃金（中正之德），守正而戒懼，便無咎。柔爻居尊位，身為施刑之主，須以中正自警。
The fifth SIX shows one gnawing at dried flesh, and finding the yellow gold. Let him be firm and correct, realizing the peril (of his position). There will be no error.
貞厲無咎，得當也。
貞而戒懼則無咎，是位得其當。
何校滅耳，凶。
肩上扛著刑具（何校），淹沒了耳朵，凶。重罪受大懲，是不聽勸告纔走到這一步，必凶。
The topmost NINE shows one wearing the cangue, and deprived of his ears. There will be evil.
何校滅耳，聰不明也。
肩上枷鎖淹沒耳朵，是聽聞不明（不聽人勸）。
把象套到你的情境，取一個可行的下一步。Apply the image to your situation; take one practical step.
斷·通·明
Decide · open · clarify
噬嗑要求的是斷障求通，也要求明罰敕法。任何系統運行受阻，都像「頤中有物」，必須斷障才能通。最高境是六五「貞厲，無咎」，以中正之德施明斷而能自戒；最該避免上九「何校滅耳」，聽不進勸告拖到重罰才後悔，必凶。
Shi Ke calls for biting through obstacles, and for clarifying penalties and ordering the laws. Any blocked system has something between the jaws, and the block must be removed before things flow again. The peak is line 5, firm and wary, no error: central uprightness paired with self-vigilance. What to avoid is line 6, the cangue covering the ears: ignoring counsel until a heavy penalty finally forces regret.
上九「何校滅耳」映照許多企業、政府、家庭衰敗的軌跡：屢勸不聽、屢警不改，到出了大事才後悔，已經太晚。若能在起初就做到「明罰敕法」，便不至於落入此境。
Line 6, the cangue covering the ears, mirrors how many companies, governments, and families collapse: warnings ignored again and again until disaster finally forces regret, and by then it is too late. Only applying clear penalties and ordered laws from the start avoids this fate.
王弼以為噬嗑卦的核心在「頤中有物」：障礙在中，必須咬合才能通。卦象明動相須，電（離）以照察，雷（震）以決斷。讀此卦最該記住「明罰敕法」四字，刑罰之要在於明白與及時，而非苛刻與隱秘。
For Wang Bi the core of Shi Ke is 'something between the jaws': the obstacle sits in the middle, and only biting through restores passage. The trigrams pair clarity with movement — lightning (Li) illuminates and examines, thunder (Zhen) decides and acts. What most deserves remembering are the four characters 'clarify penalties, order the laws' (ming fa chi fa): the essence of punishment is clarity and timeliness, not harshness and secrecy.
程子強調噬嗑卦的爻辭層次：初九「屨校滅趾」是輕罪輕懲，上九「何校滅耳」是重罪重懲，一始一終，喻刑之兩極。中間四爻是施刑之難，遇毒、得金、得黃金，皆是刑斷的過程。最高境是六五「貞厲，無咎」，以中正之德施刑而能自懷戒懼。
Cheng Yi stresses the layered structure of the line statements: line 1, 'stocks on the feet, covering the toes,' is a light penalty for a light offense; the top line, 'cangue on the shoulders, covering the ears,' is a heavy penalty for a heavy offense — beginning and end, the two poles of punishment. The four middle lines show the difficulty of applying it: meeting poison, obtaining metal arrows, obtaining yellow gold — the working process of judgment. The highest attainment is line 5, 'correct, wary — no blame': to wield punishment with centered uprightness while remaining watchful oneself.
朱子直言：噬嗑，齧而合之也。物有間者，齧而合之乃通。學者讀此卦最該注意「利用獄」三字，卦辭直接點出刑獄之用。又當深記初九與上九，一個輕懲及早改、一個重罰太晚警，是刑教的兩面。
Zhu Xi is direct: Shi Ke means biting and thereby closing. Where something lodges in between, bite through it and passage opens. The student should note the three characters 'advantageous to use the prisons' (li yong yu) — the Judgment names the penal function outright. And keep lines 1 and 6 firmly in mind: one is a light penalty that corrects early, the other a heavy penalty that warns too late — the two faces of teaching through discipline.
噬嗑的象是頤中有物：嘴裡卡著東西，上下顎合不攏，咬斷它，口纔閉得上。所以這卦不限於刑獄，組織裡的積弊、擋在路中間的人事糾結，凡是哽住讓事情不通的，都用得上這一口咬勁。卦體離上震下，電照得清，雷斷得快；只察不斷是空轉，只斷不察是亂咬。 下手的規矩在大象「明罰敕法」四字：規則先擺在明處，罰要公開、要及時，暗地裡收拾人，禍反而養得更大。分寸的高點在六五「貞厲，無咎」，握刑柄的人自己先存一分戒懼，居中去斷，纔斷得人心服。
The image of Shi Ke is something between the jaws: a thing stuck in the mouth, the jaws can't close, and only biting it through lets the mouth shut. So the hexagram isn't limited to courts and punishments — entrenched rot in an organization, a personnel tangle blocking the road, anything lodged in the works that stops things from flowing calls for this same bite. The body of the hexagram is Li above, Zhen below: lightning sees clearly, thunder decides fast. Examining without deciding is spinning in place; deciding without examining is biting at random. The rule for acting is the Great Image's four characters, 'clarify penalties, order the laws': put the rules out in the open first, make punishment public and prompt. Deal with people in the dark and the trouble only grows fatter. The high point of proportion is line 5, 'correct, wary — no blame': whoever holds the handle of punishment keeps a measure of dread in themselves first, and judges from the center — only then do the judged accept the judgment.
咬。「噬」與「嗑」合成卦名，指用力咬合，除去口中阻塞之物。
To bite.
閉合，上下顎咬合的動作。與「噬」合為卦名，指咬斷阻塞之物纔能閉口。
To close, to bring together — the jaws meeting.
腳上戴的木製刑具。初九受此輕刑，喻犯小過及早受懲以止步。
Stocks worn on the feet — the light penal instrument of line 1.
遮沒、蓋過。「滅趾」「滅耳」指刑具深陷，蓋過腳趾或耳朵。
To submerge, to cover over.
皮膚，質地柔軟。喻六二咬皮之易，施刑不留情面而無過。
Skin, soft flesh — the easiest thing to bite through.
曬乾變硬的肉，咬起來費力。喻六三施刑遇阻，仍須堅持。
Dried, hardened meat — resistance that takes real effort to bite.
帶骨的乾肉，比腊肉更難咬透。喻九四斷大事之艱難。
Meat still on the bone.
銅箭，質地堅硬筆直。喻剛正之德，九四藉此斷案得助。
Metal arrows — figure for firmness and straightness.
黃為中色，金為剛正，合喻六五居中用剛，施刑而能自警。
Yellow is the color of the center; metal is upright firmness — together, the virtue of centered uprightness.
背負，讀去聲。「何校」指肩上扛著刑具，喻上九罪重刑大。
To carry on the shoulder (read he in the fourth tone).
第二十一卦噬嗑與第二十二卦賁為一對綜卦，噬嗑是斷障求通，賁是文飾以美。前者用力清障，後者用文修飾。讀此卦應與賁卦並讀，管理之中既要有噬嗑的果斷，也要有賁的修飾。
Hexagram 21 Shi Ke and Hexagram 22 Bi form an inverse pair: Shi Ke bites through obstruction to restore flow; Bi adorns and settles with grace. One clears the blockage by force, the other refines by culture. Read them together — governance needs both Shi Ke's decisiveness and Bi's adornment.
大象「先王以明罰敕法」常被視為中國法治觀的一個源頭，刑要明、法要齊。後世「法必明、罰必行」「刑不上大夫，禮不下庶人」都與此相應。電以照之，雷以動之，明察與決斷並重。
The Great Image, 'the former kings clarified penalties and ordered the laws,' is often regarded as one root of the Chinese conception of rule by law: penalties must be clear, laws must be consistent. Later formulas such as 'laws must be plain, penalties must be enforced' and 'punishments do not reach up to the grandees, rites do not reach down to the common people' all answer to it. Lightning to illuminate, thunder to move — clear examination and firm decision weighted equally.
卦象「頤中有物」是對障礙很直觀的比喻，口要合卻合不攏，是因為中間卡著東西。任何系統運轉受阻，都像「頤中有物」，必須先除障才能通，組織、家庭、人際關係皆然。
The image 'something between the jaws' is the most direct metaphor for an obstacle: the mouth wants to close and cannot, because something is lodged inside. Any system that jams has 'something between the jaws' — the blockage must be removed before flow returns. True of organizations, families, and relationships alike.
初九「屨校滅趾」是輕罪及早警，上九「何校滅耳」是重罪太晚誡，是治理智慧的兩極：「防微杜漸」勝於「亡羊補牢」。能聽（耳明）、能行（趾未滅），是教化的根本；不聽不行，刑罰必至。
Line 1, 'stocks covering the toes,' is an early warning for a light offense; the top line, 'cangue covering the ears,' is censure that arrives too late for a heavy one. These are the two poles of Chinese governing wisdom — 'stop the seep before it becomes a flood' beats 'mend the pen after the sheep are lost.' Being able to hear (ears clear) and able to walk (toes intact) is the root of moral instruction; when one neither hears nor changes course, punishment is certain to arrive.
「頤中有物曰噬嗑」之意？為何是「除障」最直觀之喻？
What does 'something between the jaws' mean? Why is it the most direct metaphor for removing obstacles?
為何初九「屨校滅趾」與上九「何校滅耳」是治教之兩極？
Why are line 1 and line 6 the two poles of educating-through-discipline?
用六五「黃金貞厲」評論你看見過某位施刑而能自戒的領導者。
Use line 5 'yellow gold, firm and aware' to comment on a leader you've seen who applied discipline with self-vigilance.