Hexagram 20, line 3
六三Line 3 of Observation
Six in the third place · 觀 guān
爻辭 The line text
觀我生，進退。The third line, divided, shows one looking at (the course of) his own life, to advance or recede (accordingly).
觀我生，進退；未失道也。'He looks at (the course of) his own life, to advance or recede (accordingly):'—he will not err in the path (to be pursued).
In plain words
Line three turns the gaze inward: 'viewing my own life, advancing or withdrawing.' It sits at the top of Kun, on the threshold between the lower and upper trigrams, a yin line in a yang place with no correspondent above — exactly the position of someone who must decide whether to go on. The text gives no verdict; the small Image says only that one who decides this way has not lost the way (未失道也). 程頤 reads 生 as one's conduct and the fruit of it: look at what you have actually done, and let that tell you whether to proceed.
If this line is changing
Before deciding whether to go further, look honestly at what you have done so far and what it has produced; let that record, not your wishes, decide between advancing and stepping back.
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 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- It corresponds (應) with line 6: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
觀 Observation becomes ䷴ 53 漸 Gradual Advance
A tree on the mountain: gradual growth. The wild goose advances stage by stage — shore, rock, dry land, tree, hill, the heights — good fortune for a marriage, success through correctness.
What it becomes53 · 漸 Gradual AdvancejiànThe six lines of 觀 Observation
- 初六Six at the beginninga child's view · shallow sight · far from the ruler
- 六二Six in the second placepeeping through a door · narrow view · inside only
- 六三Six in the third placeviewing one's own life · advance or retreat · the threshold
- 六四Six in the fourth placethe kingdom's glory · guest of the king · close to power
- 九五Nine in the fifth placethe ruler views himself · seen in the people · central and correct
- 上九Nine at the topviewed by all · no rest yet · beyond office
Read 觀 Observation for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the third place of hexagram 20, Observation, mean?
- Line three turns the gaze inward: 'viewing my own life, advancing or withdrawing.' It sits at the top of Kun, on the threshold between the lower and upper trigrams, a yin line in a yang place with no correspondent above — exactly the position of someone who must decide whether to go on. The text gives no verdict; the small Image says only that one who decides this way has not lost the way (未失道也). 程頤 reads 生 as one's conduct and the fruit of it: look at what you have actually done, and let that tell you whether to proceed.
- What does hexagram 20 become when line 3 changes?
- Observation becomes hexagram 53, 漸 Gradual Advance: A tree on the mountain: gradual growth. The wild goose advances stage by stage — shore, rock, dry land, tree, hill, the heights — good fortune for a marriage, success through correctness.
- Is line 3 of Observation 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).