Hexagram 1, line 3
九三Line 3 of Heaven
Nine in the third place · 乾 qián
爻辭 The line text
君子終日乾乾，夕惕若，厲，无咎。In the third line, undivided, (we see its subject as) the superior man active and vigilant all the day, and in the evening still careful and apprehensive. (The position is) dangerous, but there will be no mistake.
終日乾乾，反復道也。'Active and vigilant all the day:'—(this refers to) the treading of the (proper) path over and over again.
In plain words
The dragon disappears from this line; it speaks instead of 'the superior person', busy and creative all day and still anxious at nightfall. Line three sits at the top of the lower trigram, the hinge where the first stage ends and the next has not begun — yang in a yang place, correct but not central, so the text calls it 'perilous' (厲) and then adds 'no blame'. The small Image explains the busyness as 'going over the way again and again' (反復道也): the danger is avoided not by stopping but by constant self-examination. Zhu Xi notes this is the position of someone who has risen above the crowd and not yet reached the top, where carelessness costs most.
If this line is changing
Keep up the effort but add vigilance: review what you did at the end of each day rather than assuming the momentum will carry you.
Where the line stands
- A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang line that moves when cast.
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 6: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
乾 Heaven becomes ䷉ 10 履 Stepping
Heaven above the lake: treading on the tiger's tail without being bitten. Correct conduct and courtesy carry one through danger; know your place and walk carefully.
What it becomes10 · 履 SteppinglǚThe six lines of 乾 Heaven
- 初九Nine at the beginninghidden dragon · do not act · yang below
- 九二Nine in the second placedragon in the field · appearing · the great person
- 九三Nine in the third placevigilant all day · wary at evening · danger without blame
- 九四Nine in the fourth placeleaping or waiting · the abyss · trial
- 九五Nine in the fifth placeflying dragon · in heaven · the great person
- 上九Nine at the toparrogant dragon · regret · fullness cannot last
Read 乾 Heaven for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the third place of hexagram 1, Heaven, mean?
- The dragon disappears from this line; it speaks instead of 'the superior person', busy and creative all day and still anxious at nightfall. Line three sits at the top of the lower trigram, the hinge where the first stage ends and the next has not begun — yang in a yang place, correct but not central, so the text calls it 'perilous' (厲) and then adds 'no blame'. The small Image explains the busyness as 'going over the way again and again' (反復道也): the danger is avoided not by stopping but by constant self-examination. Zhu Xi notes this is the position of someone who has risen above the crowd and not yet reached the top, where carelessness costs most.
- What does hexagram 1 become when line 3 changes?
- Heaven becomes hexagram 10, 履 Stepping: Heaven above the lake: treading on the tiger's tail without being bitten. Correct conduct and courtesy carry one through danger; know your place and walk carefully.
- Is line 3 of Heaven in its correct place?
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).