Hexagram 12, line 5
九五Line 5 of Blockage
Nine in the fifth place · 否 pǐ
爻辭 The line text
休否，大人吉。其亡其亡，繫于苞桑。In the fifth line, undivided, we see him who brings the distress and obstruction to a close,—the great man and fortunate. (But let him say), 'We may perish! We may perish!' (so shall the state of things become firm, as if) bound to a clump of bushy mulberry trees.
大人之吉，位正當也。'The good fortune of the great man' arises from the correctness of his position.
In plain words
Line five is the ruler of the hexagram: 'he brings the obstruction to rest; for the great man, good fortune. It may perish, it may perish! — tied to a clump of mulberry.' Strong, central and correct, this is the one who can end a bad time, and the small Image credits the fortune simply to 'the correctness of the place' (位正當也). But the text does not let him relax: the refrain 其亡其亡 is the constant thought that it could all be lost, and the mulberry clump, deep-rooted and many-stemmed, is the firmness that comes from that vigilance. The Xici quotes this line to say that the superior person, when safe, does not forget danger.
If this line is changing
You are in a position to end the standstill; do it, and keep repeating to yourself that it could still be lost, because that very wariness is what roots the recovery.
Where the line stands
- A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang 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 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 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- 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
否 Blockage becomes ䷢ 35 晉 Advancing
The sun rising over the earth: progress. The capable prince is rewarded with horses and received three times in a day — advancement in the light.
What it becomes35 · 晉 AdvancingjìnThe 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 Nine in the fifth place of hexagram 12, Blockage, mean?
- Line five is the ruler of the hexagram: 'he brings the obstruction to rest; for the great man, good fortune. It may perish, it may perish! — tied to a clump of mulberry.' Strong, central and correct, this is the one who can end a bad time, and the small Image credits the fortune simply to 'the correctness of the place' (位正當也). But the text does not let him relax: the refrain 其亡其亡 is the constant thought that it could all be lost, and the mulberry clump, deep-rooted and many-stemmed, is the firmness that comes from that vigilance. The Xici quotes this line to say that the superior person, when safe, does not forget danger.
- What does hexagram 12 become when line 5 changes?
- Blockage becomes hexagram 35, 晉 Advancing: The sun rising over the earth: progress. The capable prince is rewarded with horses and received three times in a day — advancement in the light.
- Is line 5 of Blockage 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. 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).