Hexagram 20, line 4
六四Line 4 of Observation
Six in the fourth place · 觀 guān
爻辭 The line text
觀國之光，利用賓于王。The fourth line, divided, shows one contemplating the glory of the kingdom. It will be advantageous for him, being such as he is, (to seek) to be a guest of the king.
觀國之光，尚賓也。'He contemplates the glory of the kingdom:'—(thence) arises the wish to be a guest (at court).
In plain words
Line four 'views the glory of the kingdom' and is told it is favourable 'to be a guest of the king.' This yin line is correct in its place and stands immediately below the ruler at five, close enough to see the state at its best — its institutions, its light. The small Image says the sight produces the wish to be received as a guest (尚賓也): someone who has seen a good order wants to serve it. The commentators read 賓 as the honoured visitor whom a king invites into his service; this is the line of the capable outsider who is drawn in by what they have observed.
If this line is changing
What you have seen up close is worth joining; accept the invitation to take part, as an honoured guest rather than a subordinate.
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 巽 Xun (the Gentle) (wind).
- 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
觀 Observation becomes ䷋ 12 否 Blockage
Heaven and earth pulling apart: nothing communicates. The great departs, the small arrives; the unworthy prosper while the worthy keep still.
What it becomes12 · 否 BlockagepǐThe 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 fourth place of hexagram 20, Observation, mean?
- Line four 'views the glory of the kingdom' and is told it is favourable 'to be a guest of the king.' This yin line is correct in its place and stands immediately below the ruler at five, close enough to see the state at its best — its institutions, its light. The small Image says the sight produces the wish to be received as a guest (尚賓也): someone who has seen a good order wants to serve it. The commentators read 賓 as the honoured visitor whom a king invites into his service; this is the line of the capable outsider who is drawn in by what they have observed.
- What does hexagram 20 become when line 4 changes?
- Observation becomes hexagram 12, 否 Blockage: Heaven and earth pulling apart: nothing communicates. The great departs, the small arrives; the unworthy prosper while the worthy keep still.
- Is line 4 of Observation 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).