Hexagram 13, line 6
上九Line 6 of People United
Nine at the top · 同人 tóng rén
爻辭 The line text
同人于郊，无悔。The topmost line, undivided, (shows the representative of) the union of men in the suburbs. There will be no occasion for repentance.
同人于郊，志未得也。'(The representative of) the union of men appears in the suburbs:'—his object has not yet been attained.
In plain words
At the top 'fellowship in the outskirts; no regret.' The judgment placed fellowship 'in the open field' (野), far beyond the walls; 郊 is the nearer countryside, outside the city but not yet the field. A strong line at the end of Qian with no correspondent and no one near it, this is the person who has left every clan and faction behind and so has no quarrel with anyone — but also no one to unite with. The small Image: 'the aim has not been attained' (志未得也). The end of the hexagram is honourable solitude: blameless, but short of what fellowship was for.
If this line is changing
Standing apart from every faction keeps you free of regret, but notice that it also keeps you alone; decide whether blamelessness is enough for what you wanted.
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 has no correspondence (無應) with line 3: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
同人 People United becomes ䷰ 49 革 Reform
Fire in the lake: two that extinguish each other — change is forced. A revolution is believed only after it is done; supreme success when the time is ripe and the cause is right.
What it becomes49 · 革 ReformgéThe 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 at the top of hexagram 13, People United, mean?
- At the top 'fellowship in the outskirts; no regret.' The judgment placed fellowship 'in the open field' (野), far beyond the walls; 郊 is the nearer countryside, outside the city but not yet the field. A strong line at the end of Qian with no correspondent and no one near it, this is the person who has left every clan and faction behind and so has no quarrel with anyone — but also no one to unite with. The small Image: 'the aim has not been attained' (志未得也). The end of the hexagram is honourable solitude: blameless, but short of what fellowship was for.
- What does hexagram 13 become when line 6 changes?
- People United becomes hexagram 49, 革 Reform: Fire in the lake: two that extinguish each other — change is forced. A revolution is believed only after it is done; supreme success when the time is ripe and the cause is right.
- Is line 6 of People United 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).