Hexagram 19, line 5
六五Line 5 of Overseeing
Six in the fifth place · 臨 lín
爻辭 The line text
知臨，大君之宜，吉。The fifth line, divided, shows the advance of wisdom, such as befits the great ruler. There will be good fortune.
大君之宜，行中之謂也。'What befits the great ruler' means the pursuing the course of the due mean.
In plain words
Line five is the ruler of the hexagram: 'approaching with wisdom, what befits a great ruler, good fortune.' It is a yin line in the central place of the upper trigram, and its wisdom lies in corresponding with the strong second line — the sovereign who does not do everything personally but trusts the able minister rising from below. The small Image says the ruler's fitness consists in 'walking the middle' (行中之謂也). 程頤 glosses 知 as knowing people: the whole art of overseeing from above is to recognise capability and let it approach.
If this line is changing
Oversee by knowing people rather than by doing their work; the wise move from above is to recognise who is capable and let them come to 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 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 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- 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
臨 Overseeing becomes ䷻ 60 節 Measure
Water above the lake: the lake holds just so much. Success through limits — but bitter, excessive limitation cannot be sustained; measure that fits is the point.
What it becomes60 · 節 MeasurejiéThe 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 fifth place of hexagram 19, Overseeing, mean?
- Line five is the ruler of the hexagram: 'approaching with wisdom, what befits a great ruler, good fortune.' It is a yin line in the central place of the upper trigram, and its wisdom lies in corresponding with the strong second line — the sovereign who does not do everything personally but trusts the able minister rising from below. The small Image says the ruler's fitness consists in 'walking the middle' (行中之謂也). 程頤 glosses 知 as knowing people: the whole art of overseeing from above is to recognise capability and let it approach.
- What does hexagram 19 become when line 5 changes?
- Overseeing becomes hexagram 60, 節 Measure: Water above the lake: the lake holds just so much. Success through limits — but bitter, excessive limitation cannot be sustained; measure that fits is the point.
- Is line 5 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. 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).