Hexagram 16, line 5
六五Line 5 of Delight
Six in the fifth place · 豫 yù
爻辭 The line text
貞疾，恆不死。The fifth line, divided, shows one with a chronic complaint, but who lives on without dying.
六五貞疾，乘剛也。恆不死，中未亡也。'(The subject of) the fifth line has a chronic complaint:'—this is shown by his being mounted on the strong (line). 'He still lives on without dying:'—he is in the central position, (and its memories of the past) have not yet perished.
In plain words
Line five is 'a persistent affliction; constant, yet does not die.' This is the sovereign's place held by a weak line, sitting on top of the strong minister at four who actually generates the hexagram's momentum. The image is of a ruler who is never quite well and never quite finished: the power has drained to the one below, yet the position holds. The small Image gives both halves — the trouble is 'riding on the strong' (乘剛也), and the survival is because 'the centre has not yet been lost' (中未亡也). Cheng Yi reads it as a figurehead sustained only by the legitimacy of the central place.
If this line is changing
You hold the title while someone below you holds the energy; it is an uncomfortable position that nonetheless lasts, so keep the centre and do not try to reclaim what has already shifted.
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 is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the upper trigram 震 Zhen (the Arousing) (thunder).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 2: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
豫 Delight becomes ䷬ 45 萃 Assembly
The lake over the earth: waters gathering. Success; the king approaches the temple; see the great man — people gather around sincerity, and a great offering brings good fortune.
What it becomes45 · 萃 AssemblycuìThe 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 in the fifth place of hexagram 16, Delight, mean?
- Line five is 'a persistent affliction; constant, yet does not die.' This is the sovereign's place held by a weak line, sitting on top of the strong minister at four who actually generates the hexagram's momentum. The image is of a ruler who is never quite well and never quite finished: the power has drained to the one below, yet the position holds. The small Image gives both halves — the trouble is 'riding on the strong' (乘剛也), and the survival is because 'the centre has not yet been lost' (中未亡也). Cheng Yi reads it as a figurehead sustained only by the legitimacy of the central place.
- What does hexagram 16 become when line 5 changes?
- Delight becomes hexagram 45, 萃 Assembly: The lake over the earth: waters gathering. Success; the king approaches the temple; see the great man — people gather around sincerity, and a great offering brings good fortune.
- Is line 5 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. 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).