Hexagram 15, line 1
初六Line 1 of Humility
Six at the beginning · 謙 qiān
爻辭 The line text
謙謙君子，用涉大川，吉。The first line, divided, shows us the superior man who adds humility to humility. (Even) the great stream may be crossed with this, and there will be good fortune.
謙謙君子，卑以自牧也。'The superior man who adds humility to humility' is one who nourishes his (virtue) in lowliness.
In plain words
The first line is 'the superior person humble upon humble; use it to cross the great river; good fortune.' Yin in the lowest place of a hexagram that is already about lowliness, it doubles the virtue — and the text says this doubled humility is enough to attempt something great. At the bottom of Gen, the mountain, it is the base on which everything rests. The small Image reads it as 'tending oneself in lowliness' (卑以自牧也): 牧 is to herd or pasture, so humility here is not self-abasement but the steady care of one's own character in a low place.
If this line is changing
Begin as low as you honestly can and keep tending your character there; this is the footing from which a hard crossing becomes possible.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin 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 lower trigram 艮 Gen (Keeping Still) (mountain).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 4: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
謙 Humility becomes ䷣ 36 明夷 Brightness Hidden
The sun sunk under the earth: the light wounded. In dark times it is favourable to persevere — hide your brilliance, as the ancient sage did under a tyrant.
What it becomes36 · 明夷 Brightness Hiddenmíng yíThe six lines of 謙 Humility
- 初六Six at the beginninghumble upon humble · crossing the river · tending oneself low
- 六二Six in the second placehumility that sounds · from the heart · central and correct
- 九三Nine in the third placemerit with humility · ruler of the hexagram · all submit
- 六四Six in the fourth placenothing unfavourable · showing humility · not breaking the rule
- 六五Six in the fifth placenot rich, yet neighbours · correcting the unsubmissive · humility with force
- 上六Six at the tophumility heard · aim not attained · only one's own town
Read 謙 Humility for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six at the beginning of hexagram 15, Humility, mean?
- The first line is 'the superior person humble upon humble; use it to cross the great river; good fortune.' Yin in the lowest place of a hexagram that is already about lowliness, it doubles the virtue — and the text says this doubled humility is enough to attempt something great. At the bottom of Gen, the mountain, it is the base on which everything rests. The small Image reads it as 'tending oneself in lowliness' (卑以自牧也): 牧 is to herd or pasture, so humility here is not self-abasement but the steady care of one's own character in a low place.
- What does hexagram 15 become when line 1 changes?
- Humility becomes hexagram 36, 明夷 Brightness Hidden: The sun sunk under the earth: the light wounded. In dark times it is favourable to persevere — hide your brilliance, as the ancient sage did under a tyrant.
- Is line 1 of Humility 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).