This is Gua 21 ䷔ in the Yi Jing, titled “Biting Through.” It is composed of ☲ Lí Lightning above ☳ Zhèn Thunder.

噬嗑

shì kē

To bite through or crush an obstruction in order to achieve union, closure, or resolution.

Meaning

Literal: The mechanical action of biting, gnawing, or cracking a resistant object.
Metaphorical: Breaking a deadlock or the decisive removal of an intervening obstacle to allow two separated sides to meet.
Institutional/Legal: The application of law, punishment, or the settlement of a dispute to restore social order.

Grammar and usage

Resultative Logic: The action is performed specifically to achieve a result (union or closure).
Directionality: Implies movement through an impediment toward a goal of contact.

Distinctions

Nourishment: Unlike other mouth-related terms, this does not refer to eating for sustenance, but rather to the effort and resistance involved in crushing an object.
Verbal Dimension: The component 嗑 can carry connotations of reproach or loquaciousness; in some contexts, the "obstruction" being removed may be verbal (e.g., arguments or lies).

Translator notes

The term carries an inherent severity, suggesting the destruction of the intervening element rather than a negotiated bypass.

Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the term means in a particular passage.