Hexagram 18, line 1
初六Line 1 of Corruption
Six at the beginning · 蠱 gǔ
爻辭 The line text
幹父之蠱，有子，考无咎，厲終吉。The first line, divided, shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his father. If he be an (able) son, the father will escape the blame of having erred. The position is perilous, but there will be good fortune in the end.
幹父之蠱，意承考也。'He deals with the troubles caused by his father:'—he feels that he has entered into the work of his father.
In plain words
The lowest line takes up 'the decay left by the father': the inherited mess is still shallow here, at the beginning, and a capable child can set it right so that the father 'is without blame'. Line one is yin at the bottom of Xun, pliant, and the text admits the position is perilous (厲) before promising good fortune in the end. The small Image says the heir's intention is to carry on the father's work (意承考也): repair is not rebuke. 程頤 notes that if the decay is caught this early, the one who caused it is spared, which is the whole point of a child's intervention.
If this line is changing
Take up the problem you inherited early and quietly, as a continuation of the other person's work rather than a verdict on it; the risk is real but the outcome favours you.
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 巽 Xun (the Gentle) (wind).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 4: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
蠱 Corruption becomes ䷙ 26 大畜 Great Accumulation
Heaven inside the mountain: great power held and stored. Firm correctness brings success; serve in public rather than eating at home, and the great river can be crossed.
What it becomes26 · 大畜 Great Accumulationdà chùThe six lines of 蠱 Corruption
- 初六Six at the beginningthe father's decay · taking over · danger then good
- 九二Nine in the second placethe mother's decay · not too rigid · the middle way
- 九三Nine in the third placetoo forceful · small regret · no great blame
- 六四Six in the fourth placeindulgence · letting it slide · regret ahead
- 六五Six in the fifth placepraise · virtue and a helper · the ruler's repair
- 上九Nine at the topnot serving · higher business · a model aim
Read 蠱 Corruption for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six at the beginning of hexagram 18, Corruption, mean?
- The lowest line takes up 'the decay left by the father': the inherited mess is still shallow here, at the beginning, and a capable child can set it right so that the father 'is without blame'. Line one is yin at the bottom of Xun, pliant, and the text admits the position is perilous (厲) before promising good fortune in the end. The small Image says the heir's intention is to carry on the father's work (意承考也): repair is not rebuke. 程頤 notes that if the decay is caught this early, the one who caused it is spared, which is the whole point of a child's intervention.
- What does hexagram 18 become when line 1 changes?
- Corruption becomes hexagram 26, 大畜 Great Accumulation: Heaven inside the mountain: great power held and stored. Firm correctness brings success; serve in public rather than eating at home, and the great river can be crossed.
- Is line 1 of Corruption 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).