Hexagram 20, line 5
九五Line 5 of Observation
Nine in the fifth place · 觀 guān
爻辭 The line text
觀我生，君子无咎。The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject contemplating his own life(-course). A superior man, he will (thus) fall into no error.
觀我生，觀民也。'He contemplates his own life (- course):'—he should (for this purpose) contemplate (the condition of) the people.
In plain words
Line five is the great figure the whole hexagram looks up to: yang, central and correct in the upper trigram, 'the great view on high' of the Tuan. Its text, like line three's, is 'viewing my own life', but the small Image gives the ruler's version: to view oneself is to view the people (觀民也). A ruler's conduct is read in the condition of those he rules; he learns what he is by looking at them. The verdict 'a superior person has no blame' is conditional — it holds only for one who actually looks. This is the judgment's washed hands before the offering: sincerity visible from below.
If this line is changing
Judge yourself by the state of the people and the work that depend on you, not by your intentions; what they show is what you are.
Where the line stands
- A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang 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 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 巽 Xun (the Gentle) (wind).
- 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
觀 Observation 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 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 Nine in the fifth place of hexagram 20, Observation, mean?
- Line five is the great figure the whole hexagram looks up to: yang, central and correct in the upper trigram, 'the great view on high' of the Tuan. Its text, like line three's, is 'viewing my own life', but the small Image gives the ruler's version: to view oneself is to view the people (觀民也). A ruler's conduct is read in the condition of those he rules; he learns what he is by looking at them. The verdict 'a superior person has no blame' is conditional — it holds only for one who actually looks. This is the judgment's washed hands before the offering: sincerity visible from below.
- What does hexagram 20 become when line 5 changes?
- Observation 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 5 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. 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).