震

I Ching trigram · 4 of 8

Zhèn ☳ Thunder 震 · The Arousing: shock, movement and the spark of new beginnings

Zhèn is one yang line rising beneath two yin lines, like thunder bursting up from the earth in spring. It stands for shock, sudden movement and the energy that wakes things up and gets them started.

Yang trigram
Element: Wood
Season: Spring
Doubled: hexagram 51

Element

Wood 木

Direction

East

Family

Eldest son 长男

Quality

Movement 动

Animal

Dragon 龙

Body

Foot 足

The lines of Zhèn

Yin Top line · heaven

Yin Middle line · humanity

Yang Bottom line · earth · ruling line

Zhèn has a solid yang line at the bottom and two broken yin lines above it. The single yang line pushes upwards against the yin, which is why Zhèn means movement and arousal.

In the three sons and three daughters, the single line that differs from the others is the ruling line. In Zhèn it is the bottom line, the first place, so Zhèn is the eldest son.

What Zhèn means

Zhèn is thunder, the sudden crack that shakes the world awake. Its quality in the Discussion of the Trigrams (说卦传) is 动 (dòng), movement. In Chinese thought thunder is the first stirring of spring, when life that has been resting underground suddenly breaks through.

As the eldest son, Zhèn is energetic, bold and quick to act. It is linked with initiative, ambition and a pioneering spirit, but also with shock and surprise. hexagram 51, The Arousing (Thunder) teaches that a sudden scare need not overwhelm us: the wise person stays composed, laughing and talking once the thunder has passed, and uses the shock to examine themselves.

In the Later Heaven arrangement Zhèn stands in the east, the direction of sunrise and spring. The commentary begins its cycle of the year here: “God comes forth in Zhèn” (帝出乎震).

洊雷，震；君子以恐惧修省。
Thunder repeated: the image of shock. The noble person, in fear and trembling, sets their life in order and examines themselves.
The Image of hexagram 51, The Arousing (Thunder)

Zhèn in your birth hexagram

With Zhèn in your birth hexagram, you are likely to be a self-starter: energetic, enthusiastic and happiest when something is moving. Zhèn people are often the first to try something new and the first to react in a crisis.

Strengths

Energetic and enthusiastic
Brave, decisive and quick to act
Pioneering and entrepreneurial
Bounces back fast from setbacks
Inspires others to get moving

Watch out for

Impulsive or hasty
A quick temper that flares and fades
Starts more than it finishes
Restless when things are slow
Can startle or overwhelm others

Find your own trigrams. The free Birth Destiny calculator works out your birth hexagram and its two trigrams from your date and time of birth.

Zhèn as the lower and upper trigram

Every hexagram has a lower trigram for the inner situation and an upper trigram for the outer world. Zhèn reads a little differently in each place.

Below: the inner world

As the lower trigram, Zhèn shows inner drive and a strong urge to act. In hexagram 25, Innocence that urge is honest and spontaneous, while in hexagram 3, Difficulty at the Beginning new energy meets water above and must push through the confusion of a difficult beginning.

Above: the outer world

As the upper trigram, Zhèn describes an environment of movement, change or sudden events. In hexagram 16, Enthusiasm thunder rises from the earth and people are roused with enthusiasm, while in hexagram 32, Duration thunder above wind gives the steady, lasting movement of a long partnership.

The 15 hexagrams that contain Zhèn

Zhèn appears in 15 of the 64 hexagrams: eight with Thunder below and eight with Thunder above, with hexagram 51, The Arousing (Thunder) counted in both lists. Click any hexagram to read its meaning.

Thunder ☳ as the lower trigram
No.	Hexagram	Upper over lower	Theme
3	Difficulty at the Beginning	Water over Thunder	Beginnings, struggle, growth
17	Following	Lake over Thunder	Following, adapting, timing
21	Biting Through	Fire over Thunder	Decisiveness, justice, clearing obstacles
24	Return	Earth over Thunder	Return, renewal, new cycles
25	Innocence	Heaven over Thunder	Sincerity, spontaneity, innocence
27	Nourishment	Mountain over Thunder	Nourishment, care, self-cultivation
42	Increase	Wind over Thunder	Increase, benefit, generosity
51	The Arousing (Thunder)	Thunder over Thunder	Shock, awakening, action

Thunder ☳ as the upper trigram
No.	Hexagram	Upper over lower	Theme
16	Enthusiasm	Thunder over Earth	Enthusiasm, inspiration, readiness
32	Duration	Thunder over Wind	Endurance, commitment, constancy
34	Great Power	Thunder over Heaven	Power, vigour, momentum
40	Deliverance	Thunder over Water	Release, relief, forgiveness
51	The Arousing (Thunder)	Thunder over Thunder	Shock, awakening, action
54	The Marrying Maiden	Thunder over Lake	Secondary role, desire, caution
55	Abundance	Thunder over Fire	Abundance, peak, fullness
62	Small Exceeding	Thunder over Mountain	Small matters, caution, detail

Symbols and correspondences

The Discussion of the Trigrams links Zhèn with thunder, the dragon, dark yellow, spreading out, a great road, the eldest son, decisiveness and vehemence, young green bamboo, reeds and rushes, and plants such as legumes that grow strong and luxuriant.

Lines (bottom to top)	yang, yin, yin
Name	震 Zhèn, The Arousing
Image in nature	Thunder
Quality	Movement (动)
Yin or yang	Yang trigram
Five element	Wood (木)
Family member	Eldest son (长男)
Later Heaven direction	East
Early Heaven direction	North-east
Season	Spring
Animal	Dragon (龙)
Part of the body	Foot (足)
Early Heaven number	4
Later Heaven (Luo Shu) number	3
Opposite trigram	☴ Xùn, Wind
Doubled hexagram	hexagram 51, The Arousing (Thunder)
Feng shui life area	Family, health and new beginnings
Kua number	3 (East group)

Zhèn in feng shui

On the Later Heaven bagua Zhèn governs the east, the area of family, health and new beginnings, traditionally linked to the eldest son. Its element is Wood, supported by green tones, healthy plants, wooden furniture and tall, upright shapes. In the Eight Mansions system, people with a kua number of 3 belong to Zhèn and the East group.

Tips for the east

Place healthy, upright plants in the east
Display family photos here
Keep sharp metal objects to a minimum, since Metal cuts Wood

More about the five elements →

Zhèn questions, answered

What does Zhèn mean in the I Ching?

Zhèn (震) means thunder or the arousing. It has one yang line below two yin lines and stands for shock, movement, initiative and the eldest son. Doubled, it forms hexagram 51, The Arousing.

What is the opposite of Zhèn?

Its opposite is Xùn, Wind, which has every line reversed: one yin line below two yang lines. Thunder and wind are often paired in the I Ching, as in hexagram 32, Duration, and hexagram 42, Increase.

Which hexagrams contain Zhèn?

Zhèn appears in 15 of the 64 hexagrams. It is both trigrams in hexagram 51, The Arousing (Thunder). It is the lower trigram in hexagrams 3, 17, 21, 24, 25, 27 and 42, and the upper trigram in hexagrams 16, 32, 34, 40, 54, 55 and 62.

What element and direction is Zhèn?

Zhèn belongs to the Wood element. In the Later Heaven (King Wen) arrangement used in feng shui it sits in the east, and in the Early Heaven (Fu Xi) arrangement it sits in the north-east.