Hexagram 17, line 5
九五Line 5 of Following Along
Nine in the fifth place · 隨 suí
爻辭 The line text
孚于嘉，吉。The fifth line, undivided, shows us (the ruler) sincere in (fostering all) that is excellent. There will be good fortune.
孚于嘉，吉；位正中也。'He is sincere in fostering what is excellent:'—his position is correct and in the centre.
In plain words
Line five is the ruler of Following: yang in the central place of the upper trigram, correct, with line two as its proper partner. 'Sincere toward what is excellent — good fortune.' 嘉 is the good itself, read by the commentators as the fine partner at two or as goodness in general: the ruler follows too, but follows only the best. The small Image gives the reason as position: central and correct (位正中也). This is the one line in the hexagram with no warning attached, because here following and leading coincide.
If this line is changing
Put your trust in what is genuinely good, in a person or a course, and follow it openly; a leader who follows the best is followed in turn.
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 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 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- It corresponds (應) with line 2: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
隨 Following Along 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 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 Nine in the fifth place of hexagram 17, Following Along, mean?
- Line five is the ruler of Following: yang in the central place of the upper trigram, correct, with line two as its proper partner. 'Sincere toward what is excellent — good fortune.' 嘉 is the good itself, read by the commentators as the fine partner at two or as goodness in general: the ruler follows too, but follows only the best. The small Image gives the reason as position: central and correct (位正中也). This is the one line in the hexagram with no warning attached, because here following and leading coincide.
- What does hexagram 17 become when line 5 changes?
- Following Along 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 5 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).