Hexagram 11, line 2
九二Line 2 of Prosperity
Nine in the second place · 泰 tài
爻辭 The line text
包荒，用馮河，不遐遺，朋亡，得尚于中行。The second line, undivided, shows one who can bear with the uncultivated, will cross the Ho without a boat, does not forget the distant, and has no (selfish) friendships. Thus does he prove himself acting in accordance with the course of the due Mean.
包荒，得尚于中行，以光大也。'He bears with the uncultivated, and proves himself acting in accordance with the due mean:'—for (his intelligence is) bright and (his capacity is) great.
In plain words
Line two is the minister of the peaceful age and, with five, a ruler of the hexagram: strong, central, and corresponding to the yielding sovereign above. Its text lists four qualities of such a person — 'embraces the uncultivated, fords the river without a boat, does not neglect the distant, lets factions go' — and sums them up as 'matching the course of the centre' (得尚於中行). Tolerance for the rough, boldness for the crossing, attention to what is far away, and no private friendships: this is how good times are kept open. The small Image credits it to breadth and brightness (以光大也).
If this line is changing
Be broad rather than particular: tolerate what is rough, act boldly, remember those far from the centre, and give up your clique; this is what a good time asks of the one who runs it.
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 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- It corresponds (應) with line 5: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
泰 Prosperity becomes ䷣ 36 明夷 Brightness Hidden
The sun sunk under the earth: the light wounded. In dark times it is favourable to persevere — hide your brilliance, as the ancient sage did under a tyrant.
What it becomes36 · 明夷 Brightness Hiddenmíng yíThe six lines of 泰 Prosperity
- 初九Nine at the beginninggrass with its roots · rising together · aim outward
- 九二Nine in the second placebearing the rough · fording the river · no cliques
- 九三Nine in the third placeno plain without slope · the turning point · enjoy with care
- 六四Six in the fourth placefluttering down · not rich · sincere neighbours
- 六五Six in the fifth placeDi Yi marries his sister · ruler humbles himself · central wish
- 上六Six at the topwall into the moat · do not use force · orders in disorder
Read 泰 Prosperity for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the second place of hexagram 11, Prosperity, mean?
- Line two is the minister of the peaceful age and, with five, a ruler of the hexagram: strong, central, and corresponding to the yielding sovereign above. Its text lists four qualities of such a person — 'embraces the uncultivated, fords the river without a boat, does not neglect the distant, lets factions go' — and sums them up as 'matching the course of the centre' (得尚於中行). Tolerance for the rough, boldness for the crossing, attention to what is far away, and no private friendships: this is how good times are kept open. The small Image credits it to breadth and brightness (以光大也).
- What does hexagram 11 become when line 2 changes?
- Prosperity becomes hexagram 36, 明夷 Brightness Hidden: The sun sunk under the earth: the light wounded. In dark times it is favourable to persevere — hide your brilliance, as the ancient sage did under a tyrant.
- Is line 2 of Prosperity 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).