Hexagram 17, line 6
上六Line 6 of Following Along
Six at the top · 隨 suí
爻辭 The line text
拘系之，乃從維之。王用亨于西山。The topmost line, divided, shows us (that sincerity) firmly held and clung to, yea, and bound fast. (We see) the king with it presenting his offerings on the western mountain.
拘系之，上窮也。'The sincerity is firmly held and clung to, as shown in the topmost line:'—(the idea of the hexagram) has reached its extreme development.
In plain words
At the top of Following the bond becomes a binding: 'held and tied, then followed and bound again'; and 'the king makes offering on the western mountain', Mount Qi, the ancestral seat of Zhou. Line six is yin at the end of Dui, pleasure, beyond which there is no further following, and the small Image says simply that the top is exhausted (上窮也). The tradition reads the image two ways. 程頤 sees following carried to its utmost sincerity, so firm that it can be offered to the spirits; others see a loyalty that has become a tether. Both agree that nothing more can be drawn from following: the story ends here.
If this line is changing
A commitment that has become unbreakable is either the height of loyalty or a rope around you; decide which, because following has nothing further to give.
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 belongs to the upper trigram 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 3: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
隨 Following Along becomes ䷘ 25 无妄 Without Falsehood
Thunder under heaven: things moving by their innate nature. Great success for what is correct and unplanned; scheming brings misfortune, and some misfortune simply arrives undeserved.
What it becomes25 · 无妄 Without Falsehoodwú wàngThe 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 at the top of hexagram 17, Following Along, mean?
- At the top of Following the bond becomes a binding: 'held and tied, then followed and bound again'; and 'the king makes offering on the western mountain', Mount Qi, the ancestral seat of Zhou. Line six is yin at the end of Dui, pleasure, beyond which there is no further following, and the small Image says simply that the top is exhausted (上窮也). The tradition reads the image two ways. 程頤 sees following carried to its utmost sincerity, so firm that it can be offered to the spirits; others see a loyalty that has become a tether. Both agree that nothing more can be drawn from following: the story ends here.
- What does hexagram 17 become when line 6 changes?
- Following Along becomes hexagram 25, 无妄 Without Falsehood: Thunder under heaven: things moving by their innate nature. Great success for what is correct and unplanned; scheming brings misfortune, and some misfortune simply arrives undeserved.
- Is line 6 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.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).