Hexagram 2, line 6
上六Line 6 of Earth
Six at the top · 坤 kūn
爻辭 The line text
龍戰于野，其血玄黃。The sixth line, divided (shows) dragons fighting in the wild. Their blood is purple and yellow.
龍戰于野，其道窮也。'The dragons fight in the wild:'—the (onward) course (indicated by Khwăn) is pursued to extremity.
In plain words
'Dragons fight in the wild; their blood is dark and yellow.' At the top of pure yin the yielding has gone so far that it turns into its opposite and contends with heaven — yin that has forgotten it is yin and takes the dragon's name. The blood is of both colours, heaven's dark and earth's yellow, so both sides are wounded. The small Image says the way of yin is exhausted here (其道窮也). The Wenyan explains that yin at its extreme 'doubts' yang and so must fight it; Cheng Yi reads the line as a subordinate who, having grown strong, finally challenges the ruler, and warns that the outcome is damage on both sides rather than victory.
If this line is changing
If you find yourself about to fight for a position that was never yours to take, stop; a contest at this point wounds both sides and settles nothing.
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 3: 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 ䷖ 23 剝 Peeling Away
The mountain worn down by the earth beneath: yin has grown until one yang line remains at the top. Not a time to go anywhere; the structure is peeling away.
What it becomes23 · 剝 Peeling AwaybōThe 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 at the top of hexagram 2, Earth, mean?
- 'Dragons fight in the wild; their blood is dark and yellow.' At the top of pure yin the yielding has gone so far that it turns into its opposite and contends with heaven — yin that has forgotten it is yin and takes the dragon's name. The blood is of both colours, heaven's dark and earth's yellow, so both sides are wounded. The small Image says the way of yin is exhausted here (其道窮也). The Wenyan explains that yin at its extreme 'doubts' yang and so must fight it; Cheng Yi reads the line as a subordinate who, having grown strong, finally challenges the ruler, and warns that the outcome is damage on both sides rather than victory.
- What does hexagram 2 become when line 6 changes?
- Earth becomes hexagram 23, 剝 Peeling Away: The mountain worn down by the earth beneath: yin has grown until one yang line remains at the top. Not a time to go anywhere; the structure is peeling away.
- Is line 6 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).