Hexagram 18, line 4
六四Line 4 of Corruption
Six in the fourth place · 蠱 gǔ
爻辭 The line text
裕父之蠱，往見吝。The fourth line, divided, shows (a son) viewing indulgently the troubles caused by his father. If he go forward, he will find cause to regret it.
裕父之蠱，往未得也。'He views indulgently the troubles caused by his father:'—if he go forward, he will not succeed.
In plain words
Line four 'tolerates the father's decay': 裕 means to be lenient, to let the trouble ride. Yin in a yin place, soft on soft, this is the line that cannot bring itself to act, and the text says that going on this way leads to regret. The small Image is terse: to go forward like this gains nothing (往未得也). It is the mirror of line three — where that line erred by too much force, this one errs by none at all, and of the two the hexagram judges tolerance more harshly, since decay thrives on being left alone.
If this line is changing
Tolerating the problem because dealing with it is awkward only lets it grow; if you keep going without acting, you will regret it.
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 艮 Gen (Keeping Still) (mountain).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 1: 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 ䷱ 50 鼎 Cauldron
Fire over wood: the cauldron that cooks the offering. Supreme success — the vessel that turns raw into cooked, nourishing the wise and settling the new order after a revolution.
What it becomes50 · 鼎 CauldrondǐngThe 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 in the fourth place of hexagram 18, Corruption, mean?
- Line four 'tolerates the father's decay': 裕 means to be lenient, to let the trouble ride. Yin in a yin place, soft on soft, this is the line that cannot bring itself to act, and the text says that going on this way leads to regret. The small Image is terse: to go forward like this gains nothing (往未得也). It is the mirror of line three — where that line erred by too much force, this one errs by none at all, and of the two the hexagram judges tolerance more harshly, since decay thrives on being left alone.
- What does hexagram 18 become when line 4 changes?
- Corruption becomes hexagram 50, 鼎 Cauldron: Fire over wood: the cauldron that cooks the offering. Supreme success — the vessel that turns raw into cooked, nourishing the wise and settling the new order after a revolution.
- Is line 4 of Corruption 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).