Hexagram 19, line 3
六三Line 3 of Overseeing
Six in the third place · 臨 lín
爻辭 The line text
甘臨，无攸利。既憂之，无咎。The third line, divided, shows one well pleased (indeed) to advance, (but whose action) will be in no way advantageous. If he become anxious about it (however), there will be no error.
甘臨，位不當也。既憂之，咎不長也。'He (shows himself) well pleased to advance:'—his position is not that appropriate to him. 'If he become anxious, however, about his action,' his error will not be continued.
In plain words
Line three is the top of Dui, the trigram of the mouth and of pleasure, and a yin line in a yang place: it approaches 'sweetly', by charm and agreeable words, and the text says this brings no advantage. The small Image explains that its position is not right for it (位不當也) — it has climbed above the two strong lines without their substance. The second half of the text opens a door: if it becomes anxious about this, there is no blame, and the small Image agrees that the fault then does not last (咎不長也). 朱熹 reads the line as the flatterer who is saved by catching himself.
If this line is changing
If you have been winning people over with pleasant words rather than substance, it is not working; the moment you worry about it is the moment it stops being a fault.
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 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 6: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
臨 Overseeing becomes ䷊ 11 泰 Prosperity
Earth above and heaven below, their energies meeting and mingling. The small departs, the great arrives: open communication, prosperity, a flourishing time.
What it becomes11 · 泰 ProsperitytàiThe six lines of 臨 Overseeing
- 初九Nine at the beginningapproach together · steadiness · a right will
- 九二Nine in the second placecentral strength · every advantage · not merely obeying
- 六三Six in the third placesweet approach · no advantage · worry saves it
- 六四Six in the fourth placedirect approach · right place · receiving the strong
- 六五Six in the fifth placewise approach · the great ruler · the middle way
- 上六Six at the topgenerous approach · the top turns inward · good at the end
Read 臨 Overseeing for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the third place of hexagram 19, Overseeing, mean?
- Line three is the top of Dui, the trigram of the mouth and of pleasure, and a yin line in a yang place: it approaches 'sweetly', by charm and agreeable words, and the text says this brings no advantage. The small Image explains that its position is not right for it (位不當也) — it has climbed above the two strong lines without their substance. The second half of the text opens a door: if it becomes anxious about this, there is no blame, and the small Image agrees that the fault then does not last (咎不長也). 朱熹 reads the line as the flatterer who is saved by catching himself.
- What does hexagram 19 become when line 3 changes?
- Overseeing becomes hexagram 11, 泰 Prosperity: Earth above and heaven below, their energies meeting and mingling. The small departs, the great arrives: open communication, prosperity, a flourishing time.
- Is line 3 of Overseeing 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).