Hexagram 16, line 1
初六Line 1 of Delight
Six at the beginning · 豫 yù
爻辭 The line text
鳴豫，凶。The first line, divided, shows its subject proclaiming his pleasure and satisfaction. There will be evil.
初六鳴豫，志窮凶也。'The (subject of the) first line proclaims his pleasure and satisfaction:'—there will be evil; his wishes have been satisfied to overflowing.
In plain words
The first line is 'delight that cries out; misfortune.' Yin at the very bottom, it corresponds with the strong ruler at four, the source of all the hexagram's enthusiasm — and that connection goes to its head. A weak line in the lowest place, with nothing of its own, it trumpets its good fortune at being favoured. The small Image says the misfortune comes from 'the will being exhausted' (志窮也): there is nothing more to want, so there is nothing left to steady it. In the story of Yu, the first thing enthusiasm does when it reaches someone small is make them loud.
If this line is changing
If being favoured makes you want to announce it, that impulse is the warning; the louder the delight at the start, the sooner it runs out.
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 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- It corresponds (應) with line 4: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
豫 Delight becomes ䷲ 51 震 Shock (Thunder)
Thunder upon thunder: shock. It arrives with alarm and is followed by laughter; the shock shakes a hundred miles, yet the sacrificial spoon is not dropped.
What it becomes51 · 震 Shock (Thunder)zhènThe six lines of 豫 Delight
- 初六Six at the beginningcrowing delight · will exhausted · misfortune
- 六二Six in the second placefirm as rock · not waiting a day · seeing the seed
- 六三Six in the third placegazing upward · regret · too late
- 九四Nine in the fourth placesource of delight · do not doubt · friends gather
- 六五Six in the fifth placepersistent ailment · does not die · riding the strong
- 上六Six at the topdarkened delight · change even when complete · no blame
Read 豫 Delight for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six at the beginning of hexagram 16, Delight, mean?
- The first line is 'delight that cries out; misfortune.' Yin at the very bottom, it corresponds with the strong ruler at four, the source of all the hexagram's enthusiasm — and that connection goes to its head. A weak line in the lowest place, with nothing of its own, it trumpets its good fortune at being favoured. The small Image says the misfortune comes from 'the will being exhausted' (志窮也): there is nothing more to want, so there is nothing left to steady it. In the story of Yu, the first thing enthusiasm does when it reaches someone small is make them loud.
- What does hexagram 16 become when line 1 changes?
- Delight becomes hexagram 51, 震 Shock (Thunder): Thunder upon thunder: shock. It arrives with alarm and is followed by laughter; the shock shakes a hundred miles, yet the sacrificial spoon is not dropped.
- Is line 1 of Delight 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).