Hexagram 13, line 2
六二Line 2 of People United
Six in the second place · 同人 tóng rén
爻辭 The line text
同人于宗，吝。The second line, divided, (shows the representative of) the union of men in relation with his kindred. There will be occasion for regret.
同人于宗，吝道也。'(The representative of) the union of men appears in relation with his kindred:'—that is the path to regret.
In plain words
Line two is the hexagram's only yin, central and correct, and the Tuan calls it the line that gives the hexagram its name: 'the soft gets its place and its centre and responds to Qian.' Yet its own text says 'fellowship with the clan; regret.' Its correspondence with five is exactly the problem — it unites only with its own partner, and the other four strong lines are left out. The small Image is blunt: this is 'the way of regret' (吝道也). The judgment asks for fellowship 'in the open field'; a bond confined to one's kin, however correct, is too small for the hexagram.
If this line is changing
A bond that includes only your own people is correct but too narrow for this moment; widen the circle, or accept that the narrowness will cost you.
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 is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 離 Li (the Clinging) (fire).
- It corresponds (應) with line 5: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
同人 People United becomes ䷀ 1 乾 Heaven
Pure yang, six unbroken lines: heaven in ceaseless motion. Creative force and leadership, pictured as a dragon rising stage by stage — hidden, in the field, flying, and finally overreaching.
What it becomes1 · 乾 HeavenqiánThe six lines of 同人 People United
- 初九Nine at the beginningat the gate · open fellowship · no partiality
- 六二Six in the second placefellowship with kin · clannishness · regret
- 九三Nine in the third placearms hidden in the grass · spying from the hill · three years
- 九四Nine in the fourth placeon the wall · does not attack · returns to the rule
- 九五Nine in the fifth placeweeping then laughing · the great army · they meet
- 上九Nine at the topin the outskirts · no regret · aim unfulfilled
Read 同人 People United for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the second place of hexagram 13, People United, mean?
- Line two is the hexagram's only yin, central and correct, and the Tuan calls it the line that gives the hexagram its name: 'the soft gets its place and its centre and responds to Qian.' Yet its own text says 'fellowship with the clan; regret.' Its correspondence with five is exactly the problem — it unites only with its own partner, and the other four strong lines are left out. The small Image is blunt: this is 'the way of regret' (吝道也). The judgment asks for fellowship 'in the open field'; a bond confined to one's kin, however correct, is too small for the hexagram.
- What does hexagram 13 become when line 2 changes?
- People United becomes hexagram 1, 乾 Heaven: Pure yang, six unbroken lines: heaven in ceaseless motion. Creative force and leadership, pictured as a dragon rising stage by stage — hidden, in the field, flying, and finally overreaching.
- Is line 2 of People United 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).