Hexagram 11, line 4
六四Line 4 of Prosperity
Six in the fourth place · 泰 tài
爻辭 The line text
翩翩，不富，以其鄰，不戒以孚。The fourth line, divided, shows its subject fluttering (down);—not relying on his own rich resources, but calling in his neighbours. (They all come) not as having received warning, but in the sincerity (of their hearts).
翩翩不富，皆失實也。不戒以孚，中心願也。'He comes fluttering (down), not relying on his own rich resources:'—both he and his neighbours are out of their real (place where they are). 'They have not received warning, but (come) in the sincerity (of their hearts):'—this is what they have desired in the core of their hearts.
In plain words
The fourth line is the first of the yins, and it 'flutters down, not rich, with its neighbours, unwarned yet sincere.' As the yangs rise, the yins come down to meet them, light as birds; four leads five and six and corresponds to the strong line at one. 'Not rich' is the yielding lines' emptiness — they bring no substance of their own, and the small Image admits it: 'all have lost their reality' (皆失實也). But they do not need to be told; they come 'from the wish of the inner heart' (中心願也). This is what communication between high and low looks like from the upper side.
If this line is changing
Come down to meet what is rising, and bring the others with you willingly; what you lack in substance you make up in sincerity, and no one should have to ask you twice.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin 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 upper trigram 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- It corresponds (應) with line 1: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
泰 Prosperity becomes ䷡ 34 大壯 Great Vigor
Thunder above heaven: great strength on the move. Favourable to persevere correctly — real power stays within the bounds of propriety; the ram that butts the hedge gets stuck.
What it becomes34 · 大壯 Great Vigordà zhuàngThe 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 Six in the fourth place of hexagram 11, Prosperity, mean?
- The fourth line is the first of the yins, and it 'flutters down, not rich, with its neighbours, unwarned yet sincere.' As the yangs rise, the yins come down to meet them, light as birds; four leads five and six and corresponds to the strong line at one. 'Not rich' is the yielding lines' emptiness — they bring no substance of their own, and the small Image admits it: 'all have lost their reality' (皆失實也). But they do not need to be told; they come 'from the wish of the inner heart' (中心願也). This is what communication between high and low looks like from the upper side.
- What does hexagram 11 become when line 4 changes?
- Prosperity becomes hexagram 34, 大壯 Great Vigor: Thunder above heaven: great strength on the move. Favourable to persevere correctly — real power stays within the bounds of propriety; the ram that butts the hedge gets stuck.
- Is line 4 of Prosperity 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).