Hexagram 2, line 4
六四Line 4 of Earth
Six in the fourth place · 坤 kūn
爻辭 The line text
括囊；无咎，无譽。The fourth line, divided, (shows the symbol of) a sack tied up. There will be no ground for blame or for praise.
括囊无咎，慎不害也。'A sack tied up;—there will be no error:'—this shows how, through carefulness, no injury will be received.
In plain words
'A tied-up sack: no blame, no praise.' Line four has entered the upper trigram and stands next to the ruler — yin in a yin place, correct, but in Kun's story this is the position of a minister in a time when speaking out is dangerous. The sack is closed so that nothing gets out and nothing gets in; the price of safety is that one earns no praise either. The small Image approves: being careful does no harm (慎不害也). Cheng Yi notes that line four, unlike the central second line, has no breadth of its own and is close to power, so withdrawal into silence is the correct reading of the moment, not cowardice.
If this line is changing
Say less than you know and keep your opinions out of circulation for now; this is a season for being safe, not for being noticed.
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 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- 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
坤 Earth becomes ䷏ 16 豫 Delight
Thunder bursting out of the earth: music, enthusiasm, movement in harmony with the time. Favourable to appoint helpers and set things in motion.
What it becomes16 · 豫 DelightyùThe six lines of 坤 Earth
- 初六Six at the beginningtreading on frost · hard ice · small beginnings
- 六二Six in the second placestraight, square, great · without practice · the way of earth
- 六三Six in the third placehidden brilliance · serving without credit · a proper end
- 六四Six in the fourth placetied sack · no blame, no praise · caution
- 六五Six in the fifth placeyellow lower garment · great good fortune · culture at the centre
- 上六Six at the topdragons fight · in the open · yin exhausted
Read 坤 Earth for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the fourth place of hexagram 2, Earth, mean?
- 'A tied-up sack: no blame, no praise.' Line four has entered the upper trigram and stands next to the ruler — yin in a yin place, correct, but in Kun's story this is the position of a minister in a time when speaking out is dangerous. The sack is closed so that nothing gets out and nothing gets in; the price of safety is that one earns no praise either. The small Image approves: being careful does no harm (慎不害也). Cheng Yi notes that line four, unlike the central second line, has no breadth of its own and is close to power, so withdrawal into silence is the correct reading of the moment, not cowardice.
- What does hexagram 2 become when line 4 changes?
- Earth becomes hexagram 16, 豫 Delight: Thunder bursting out of the earth: music, enthusiasm, movement in harmony with the time. Favourable to appoint helpers and set things in motion.
- Is line 4 of Earth 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).