Hexagram 15, line 3
九三Line 3 of Humility
Nine in the third place · 謙 qiān
爻辭 The line text
勞謙，君子有終，吉。The third line, undivided, shows the superior man of (acknowledged) merit. He will maintain his success to the end, and have good fortune.
勞謙君子，萬民服也。'The superior man of (acknowledged) merit, and yet humble:'—the myriads of the people will submit to him.
In plain words
Line three is the only strong line in the hexagram and its ruler: 'toiling and humble, the superior person carries it through to the end; good fortune.' It has done the work — 勞 is real merit — and holds the whole structure up, the mountain under the earth, yet it stays in the lower trigram and makes no display. The judgment's 君子有終 is repeated here, because this is the line that earns it. The small Image: 'the myriad people submit' (萬民服也). The Xici quotes this line for the man who labours without boasting and has merit without claiming it, calling that the height of generosity.
If this line is changing
You have done the work and carry the weight; keep doing it without pointing to it, and the recognition that matters comes of its own accord.
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 艮 Gen (Keeping Still) (mountain).
- It corresponds (應) with line 6: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
謙 Humility becomes ䷁ 2 坤 Earth
Pure yin: the earth that carries everything. Strength through receptiveness, patience and service; success comes from following a good lead rather than forcing the front, like a mare steady on the open plain.
What it becomes2 · 坤 EarthkūnThe 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 Nine in the third place of hexagram 15, Humility, mean?
- Line three is the only strong line in the hexagram and its ruler: 'toiling and humble, the superior person carries it through to the end; good fortune.' It has done the work — 勞 is real merit — and holds the whole structure up, the mountain under the earth, yet it stays in the lower trigram and makes no display. The judgment's 君子有終 is repeated here, because this is the line that earns it. The small Image: 'the myriad people submit' (萬民服也). The Xici quotes this line for the man who labours without boasting and has merit without claiming it, calling that the height of generosity.
- What does hexagram 15 become when line 3 changes?
- Humility becomes hexagram 2, 坤 Earth: Pure yin: the earth that carries everything. Strength through receptiveness, patience and service; success comes from following a good lead rather than forcing the front, like a mare steady on the open plain.
- Is line 3 of Humility 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).