Xun

巽 is the I Ching trigram linked with Wind and entering. In the Shuogua, the chapter that explains the trigrams, it is glossed as “entering” and linked with Wind and Wood, the eldest daughter, and the southeast. In classical writing about conduct, it can also mean yielding, respectful, or compliant. Without that setting, 巽 is not a fixed synonym for “wind.”

Early Warring States bronze-bell inscriptions and manuscripts from Chu, an ancient Chinese state, preserve early forms of 巽. Bronze inscriptions served ritual, political, and commemorative purposes. One reading of a bronze-vessel inscription takes 巽 as part of a phrase about making the people obedient, though scholars differ on that passage. The Han-era Shuowen Jiezi, an early Chinese character dictionary, glosses the form as “prepare.” The history supports several readings, not one certain origin.

The Bagua is the system of eight trigrams; each is a three-line sign, and pairs combine into six-line hexagrams. In its Later-Heaven layout—a traditional arrangement of directions—巽 occupies the southeast and is linked with ☴. Japanese also uses 巽 for southeast (たつみ) and yielding (ゆずる). Historical seal-script shapes are earlier forms of this character; ☴ is a separate trigram sign.