Hexagram 11, line 5
六五Line 5 of Prosperity
Six in the fifth place · 泰 tài
爻辭 The line text
帝乙歸妹，以祉元吉。The fifth line, divided, reminds us of (king) Tî-yî's (rule about the) marriage of his younger sister. By such a course there is happiness and there will be great good fortune.
以祉元吉，中以行愿也。'By such a course there is happiness, and there will be great good fortune:'—(the subject of the line) employs the virtue proper to his central position to carry his wishes into effect.
In plain words
Line five is the yielding sovereign of Tai: 'Di Yi gives his younger sister in marriage; blessing, great good fortune.' The Shang king marrying his sister to a subject is the image of a ruler who lowers himself to join with the able minister at two, his correspondent — earth coming down to heaven, which is the whole shape of the hexagram. The soft line in the honoured place is not weak; its humility is what makes the age peaceful. The small Image says the blessing comes from 'carrying out one's wish through the centre' (中以行願也): the wish to unite, pursued with the measure that line five's central place gives.
If this line is changing
If you hold the higher place, step down to meet the capable person below you and make the alliance real; the generosity costs you nothing and brings the greatest good fortune in the hexagram.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin 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 upper trigram 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- It corresponds (應) with line 2: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
泰 Prosperity becomes ䷄ 5 需 Attending
Clouds rising to heaven: rain that will come in its time. Confident waiting — not idle, but nourishing yourself until the crossing is safe.
What it becomes5 · 需 AttendingxūThe 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 fifth place of hexagram 11, Prosperity, mean?
- Line five is the yielding sovereign of Tai: 'Di Yi gives his younger sister in marriage; blessing, great good fortune.' The Shang king marrying his sister to a subject is the image of a ruler who lowers himself to join with the able minister at two, his correspondent — earth coming down to heaven, which is the whole shape of the hexagram. The soft line in the honoured place is not weak; its humility is what makes the age peaceful. The small Image says the blessing comes from 'carrying out one's wish through the centre' (中以行願也): the wish to unite, pursued with the measure that line five's central place gives.
- What does hexagram 11 become when line 5 changes?
- Prosperity becomes hexagram 5, 需 Attending: Clouds rising to heaven: rain that will come in its time. Confident waiting — not idle, but nourishing yourself until the crossing is safe.
- Is line 5 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).