Hexagram 12, line 6
上九Line 6 of Blockage
Nine at the top · 否 pǐ
爻辭 The line text
傾否，先否後喜。The sixth line, undivided, shows the overthrow (and removal of) the condition of distress and obstruction. Before this there was that condition. Hereafter there will be joy.
否終則傾，何可長也。'The distress and obstruction having reached its end, it is overthrown and removed:'—how could it be prolonged?
In plain words
At the top 'the obstruction is overturned; first obstruction, then joy.' A strong line at the end of Qian, it stands where the blocked time has nothing further to do but collapse. Unlike most top lines, which are excess, this one is relief: the thing has run its course, and what follows is gladness. The small Image states the principle that governs the whole hexagram: 'when obstruction reaches its end it is overturned — how could it go on?' (否終則傾，何可長也). Note that the text says 傾否, to overturn it — the ending is something done, not merely awaited.
If this line is changing
The blocked time is at its end; give it the final push rather than waiting passively, and let yourself expect the joy that follows.
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 belongs to the upper trigram 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- It corresponds (應) with line 3: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
否 Blockage becomes ䷬ 45 萃 Assembly
The lake over the earth: waters gathering. Success; the king approaches the temple; see the great man — people gather around sincerity, and a great offering brings good fortune.
What it becomes45 · 萃 AssemblycuìThe 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 at the top of hexagram 12, Blockage, mean?
- At the top 'the obstruction is overturned; first obstruction, then joy.' A strong line at the end of Qian, it stands where the blocked time has nothing further to do but collapse. Unlike most top lines, which are excess, this one is relief: the thing has run its course, and what follows is gladness. The small Image states the principle that governs the whole hexagram: 'when obstruction reaches its end it is overturned — how could it go on?' (否終則傾，何可長也). Note that the text says 傾否, to overturn it — the ending is something done, not merely awaited.
- What does hexagram 12 become when line 6 changes?
- Blockage becomes hexagram 45, 萃 Assembly: The lake over the earth: waters gathering. Success; the king approaches the temple; see the great man — people gather around sincerity, and a great offering brings good fortune.
- Is line 6 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).