Hexagram 14, line 3
九三Line 3 of Great Holdings
Nine in the third place · 大有 dà yǒu
爻辭 The line text
公用亨于天子，小人弗克。The third line, undivided, shows us a feudal prince presenting his offerings to the Son of Heaven. A small man would be unequal (to such a duty).
公用亨于天子，小人害也。'A feudal prince presents his offerings to the son of Heaven:'—a small man (in such a position) does (himself) harm.
In plain words
Line three is 'a duke offers to the Son of Heaven; a small man cannot.' Strong at the top of Qian, it is the great vassal with lands and means of his own, and the right use of them in Da You is to bring them to the ruler at five — 亨 here is the offering or feast presented upward. The second clause is the warning: a small person in the same position would keep the wealth for himself, and the small Image says that would be his undoing (小人害也). Possession at this level is judged entirely by whether it flows up or stops.
If this line is changing
What you hold is meant to be offered upward, to the person or cause it serves; keep it for yourself and the holding turns against you.
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 belongs to the lower trigram 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 6: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
大有 Great Holdings becomes ䷥ 38 睽 Divergence
Fire rising and the lake sinking: two moving apart. Opposition — good fortune only in small matters; yet difference has its uses, as heaven and earth differ and still work together.
What it becomes38 · 睽 DivergencekuíThe 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 third place of hexagram 14, Great Holdings, mean?
- Line three is 'a duke offers to the Son of Heaven; a small man cannot.' Strong at the top of Qian, it is the great vassal with lands and means of his own, and the right use of them in Da You is to bring them to the ruler at five — 亨 here is the offering or feast presented upward. The second clause is the warning: a small person in the same position would keep the wealth for himself, and the small Image says that would be his undoing (小人害也). Possession at this level is judged entirely by whether it flows up or stops.
- What does hexagram 14 become when line 3 changes?
- Great Holdings becomes hexagram 38, 睽 Divergence: Fire rising and the lake sinking: two moving apart. Opposition — good fortune only in small matters; yet difference has its uses, as heaven and earth differ and still work together.
- Is line 3 of Great Holdings 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.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).