An interpretation of Hexagram Jian in Zhouyi

Based on a textual research of the name of Hexagram Jian (Gradualness, the 53rd hexagram in the received version of Zhouyi) and the interpretation of the character in Shuo wen jie zi ,this paper points out that this hexagram owes its name to the meaning of gradualness of a slope, and was extended as the meaning of gradual advance. In addition, departing from the images of the hexagram and lines, this paper claims that the remarks were affiliated to the hexagram and lines according to their images and were unfolded around one theme, which is not discontinuous with the theme revealed in the poem of Hong Yon (Swan Goose) collected in the Classic of Poetry. This could make contributions to the exploration to the composition and completion time of the Text of Zhouyi.