Hexagram 17, line 2
六二Line 2 of Following Along
Six in the second place · 隨 suí
爻辭 The line text
系小子，失丈夫。The second line, divided, shows us one who cleaves to the little boy, and lets go the man of age and experience.
係小子，弗兼與也。'He cleaves to the little boy:'—he cannot be with the two at the same time.
In plain words
Line two 'binds itself to the little boy and loses the grown man.' The yin line in a central, correct place has a proper partner in the ruler at five, the grown man; but line one, the little boy, is right beside it, and it clings to what is near. The small Image gives the rule of the whole hexagram in four characters: one cannot be with both (弗兼與也). Following means choosing, and this line chooses badly out of proximity, not out of judgment. 程頤 reads it as the ordinary human weakness of being led by what is close at hand.
If this line is changing
Ask whether you are following someone because they are right or only because they are close; the one who really answers to you may be further away.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin 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 is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 震 Zhen (the Arousing) (thunder).
- It corresponds (應) with line 5: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
隨 Following Along becomes ䷹ 58 兌 Pleasure (Lake)
Lake upon lake: joy. Success through correctness — inner firmness, outer gentleness; friends discussing and practising together, a joy that makes people forget their toil.
What it becomes58 · 兌 Pleasure (Lake)duìThe six lines of 隨 Following Along
- 初九Nine at the beginninga change of post · stay correct · beyond the gate
- 六二Six in the second placethe near one · losing the better · cannot have both
- 六三Six in the third placethe grown man · letting go · gain with restraint
- 九四Nine in the fourth placefollowers gained · suspicion · sincerity on the way
- 九五Nine in the fifth placethe ruler · trust in the good · central and correct
- 上六Six at the topbound fast · following exhausted · the western mountain
Read 隨 Following Along for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the second place of hexagram 17, Following Along, mean?
- Line two 'binds itself to the little boy and loses the grown man.' The yin line in a central, correct place has a proper partner in the ruler at five, the grown man; but line one, the little boy, is right beside it, and it clings to what is near. The small Image gives the rule of the whole hexagram in four characters: one cannot be with both (弗兼與也). Following means choosing, and this line chooses badly out of proximity, not out of judgment. 程頤 reads it as the ordinary human weakness of being led by what is close at hand.
- What does hexagram 17 become when line 2 changes?
- Following Along becomes hexagram 58, 兌 Pleasure (Lake): Lake upon lake: joy. Success through correctness — inner firmness, outer gentleness; friends discussing and practising together, a joy that makes people forget their toil.
- Is line 2 of Following Along 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. 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).