Hexagram 14, line 2
九二Line 2 of Great Holdings
Nine in the second place · 大有 dà yǒu
爻辭 The line text
大車以載，有攸往，无咎。In the second line, undivided, we have a large waggon with its load. In whatever direction advance is made, there will be no error.
大車以載，積中不敗也。'A large waggon with its load' refers to the (virtue) accumulated (in the subject of the line), so that he will suffer no loss (in the conduct of affairs).
In plain words
Line two is 'a great wagon for carrying; somewhere to go; no blame.' Strong and central in Qian, it corresponds with the yielding ruler at five and is the one who carries the ruler's trust — the minister with the capacity to bear a heavy load a long way. The small Image reads the wagon as 'what is accumulated in the centre, so that it does not break down' (積中不敗也): the strength is inside the line, built up, not borrowed. Of all the strong lines in Da You this is the one whose abundance is put to work.
If this line is changing
You have the capacity to carry this and somewhere to carry it to; load the wagon and go, trusting the strength you have built rather than waiting to feel ready.
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 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 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- 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
大有 Great Holdings 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 大有 Great Holdings
- 初九Nine at the beginningno harmful contact · remember the difficulty · beginning of plenty
- 九二Nine in the second placegreat wagon · bearing the load · accumulated strength
- 九三Nine in the third placeoffering to the king · noble service · small man cannot
- 九四Nine in the fourth placenot swelling · restraint near the ruler · clear discernment
- 六五Six in the fifth placesincerity exchanged · dignity · ruler of the hexagram
- 上九Nine at the tophelp from heaven · nothing not favourable · yielding above the ruler
Read 大有 Great Holdings for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the second place of hexagram 14, Great Holdings, mean?
- Line two is 'a great wagon for carrying; somewhere to go; no blame.' Strong and central in Qian, it corresponds with the yielding ruler at five and is the one who carries the ruler's trust — the minister with the capacity to bear a heavy load a long way. The small Image reads the wagon as 'what is accumulated in the centre, so that it does not break down' (積中不敗也): the strength is inside the line, built up, not borrowed. Of all the strong lines in Da You this is the one whose abundance is put to work.
- What does hexagram 14 become when line 2 changes?
- Great Holdings 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 2 of Great Holdings 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. 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).