Hexagram 13, line 5
九五Line 5 of People United
Nine in the fifth place · 同人 tóng rén
爻辭 The line text
同人，先號咷而後笑。大師克相遇。In the fifth line, undivided, (the representative of) the union of men first wails and cries out, and then laughs. His great host conquers, and he (and the subject of the second line) meet together.
同人之先，以中直也。大師相遇，言相克也。The first action of (the representative of) the union of men (here described) arises from his central position and straightforward character. 'The meeting secured by his great host' intimates that the opponents of it have been overcome.
In plain words
Line five is the strong, central ruler, and its proper partner is the yin at two — but three and four stand in the way. 'Fellowship: first wailing, then laughing; the great army prevails and they meet.' The grief is the separation, the laughter the reunion, and the army is the force it takes to clear the obstruction, which the small Image calls 'overcoming them' (言相剋也). It also says the first part, the weeping, comes from 'centrality and straightness' (以中直也): the ruler's feeling is sincere, which is why it eventually wins through. The Xici cites this line for the saying that two people of one heart have a sharpness that cuts metal.
If this line is changing
The separation you are grieving is real, and so is the way through it; the bond is true at the centre, and it is worth the force it takes to clear what stands between.
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
同人 People United becomes ䷝ 30 離 Brightness (Fire)
Fire upon fire: brightness that clings to what feeds it. Success through correctness and clarity; tend the flame like a docile cow — gently and continuously.
What it becomes30 · 離 Brightness (Fire)líThe 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 Nine in the fifth place of hexagram 13, People United, mean?
- Line five is the strong, central ruler, and its proper partner is the yin at two — but three and four stand in the way. 'Fellowship: first wailing, then laughing; the great army prevails and they meet.' The grief is the separation, the laughter the reunion, and the army is the force it takes to clear the obstruction, which the small Image calls 'overcoming them' (言相剋也). It also says the first part, the weeping, comes from 'centrality and straightness' (以中直也): the ruler's feeling is sincere, which is why it eventually wins through. The Xici cites this line for the saying that two people of one heart have a sharpness that cuts metal.
- What does hexagram 13 become when line 5 changes?
- People United becomes hexagram 30, 離 Brightness (Fire): Fire upon fire: brightness that clings to what feeds it. Success through correctness and clarity; tend the flame like a docile cow — gently and continuously.
- Is line 5 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).