Hexagram 10, line 2
九二Line 2 of Stepping
Nine in the second place · 履 lǚ
爻辭 The line text
履道坦坦，幽人貞吉。The second line, undivided, shows its subject treading the path that is level and easy;—a quiet and solitary man, to whom, if he be firm and correct, there will be good fortune.
幽人貞吉，中不自亂也。'A quiet and solitary man, to whom, being firm and correct, there will be good fortune:'—holding the due mean, he will not allow himself to be thrown into disorder.
In plain words
Line two 'treads a road that is broad and level; the recluse's steadiness brings good fortune.' It is strong and central in the lower trigram Dui, but five above is also yang, so there is no pull from the court; the line walks its smooth path without seeking advancement. That absence of ambition is what 幽人, the quiet person in retirement, means here. The small Image gives the mechanism: holding the centre, 'he does not let himself be thrown into disorder' (中不自亂也). The road is level because he is not looking up the slope.
If this line is changing
Keep to the plain, level way and do not reach for notice; your good fortune here comes from a mind that refuses to be unsettled.
Where the line stands
- A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang line that moves when cast.
- It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning.
- It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 5: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
履 Stepping becomes ䷘ 25 无妄 Without Falsehood
Thunder under heaven: things moving by their innate nature. Great success for what is correct and unplanned; scheming brings misfortune, and some misfortune simply arrives undeserved.
What it becomes25 · 无妄 Without Falsehoodwú wàngThe six lines of 履 Stepping
- 初九Nine at the beginningplain treading · simplicity · going alone
- 九二Nine in the second placelevel road · the recluse · inner calm
- 六三Six in the third placeone-eyed, lame · bitten by the tiger · overreach
- 九四Nine in the fourth placetiger's tail · trembling caution · good end
- 九五Nine in the fifth placeresolute tread · peril in correctness · the ruler
- 上九Nine at the topreview the path · signs examined · great blessing
Read 履 Stepping for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the second place of hexagram 10, Stepping, mean?
- Line two 'treads a road that is broad and level; the recluse's steadiness brings good fortune.' It is strong and central in the lower trigram Dui, but five above is also yang, so there is no pull from the court; the line walks its smooth path without seeking advancement. That absence of ambition is what 幽人, the quiet person in retirement, means here. The small Image gives the mechanism: holding the centre, 'he does not let himself be thrown into disorder' (中不自亂也). The road is level because he is not looking up the slope.
- What does hexagram 10 become when line 2 changes?
- Stepping becomes hexagram 25, 无妄 Without Falsehood: Thunder under heaven: things moving by their innate nature. Great success for what is correct and unplanned; scheming brings misfortune, and some misfortune simply arrives undeserved.
- Is line 2 of Stepping in its correct place?
- It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).