Hexagram 12, line 3
六三Line 3 of Blockage
Six in the third place · 否 pǐ
爻辭 The line text
包羞。The third line, divided, shows its subject ashamed of the purpose folded (in his breast).
包羞，位不當也。That 'his shame is folded in his breast' is owing to the inappropriateness of his position.
In plain words
Line three is two characters: 'harbours shame' (包羞). It is yin in a strong place at the top of Kun, the highest of the small people and the one closest to the strong lines above; it has risen as far as it can in a blocked time and wants more. The received reading is that it holds in its breast an intention it would be ashamed to show — to profit from the obstruction, to climb by it. The small Image gives the whole explanation in four characters: 'the place is not right' (位不當也). Nothing is said of fortune or misfortune; the shame is the verdict.
If this line is changing
If you find yourself hoping to gain from a bad situation, name the motive honestly and drop it; a position reached that way is the kind one is ashamed of later.
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 belongs to the lower trigram 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- It corresponds (應) with line 6: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
否 Blockage becomes ䷠ 33 遯 Withdrawal
Heaven withdrawing from the mountain: retreat in good time. Yin grows, and the wise step back with dignity — success through retreat, small advantage in persevering.
What it becomes33 · 遯 WithdrawaldùnThe six lines of 否 Blockage
- 初六Six at the beginninggrass with its roots · withdraw together · loyal aim
- 六二Six in the second placebearing and obeying · great man accepts · not joining the herd
- 六三Six in the third placeshame harboured · wrong place · hidden motive
- 九四Nine in the fourth placea mandate · no blame · companions share the blessing
- 九五Nine in the fifth placeending obstruction · it may perish! · bound to the mulberry
- 上九Nine at the topobstruction overturned · first blocked, then joy · cannot last
Read 否 Blockage for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the third place of hexagram 12, Blockage, mean?
- Line three is two characters: 'harbours shame' (包羞). It is yin in a strong place at the top of Kun, the highest of the small people and the one closest to the strong lines above; it has risen as far as it can in a blocked time and wants more. The received reading is that it holds in its breast an intention it would be ashamed to show — to profit from the obstruction, to climb by it. The small Image gives the whole explanation in four characters: 'the place is not right' (位不當也). Nothing is said of fortune or misfortune; the shame is the verdict.
- What does hexagram 12 become when line 3 changes?
- Blockage becomes hexagram 33, 遯 Withdrawal: Heaven withdrawing from the mountain: retreat in good time. Yin grows, and the wise step back with dignity — success through retreat, small advantage in persevering.
- Is line 3 of Blockage 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.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).