Hexagram 21, line 5
六五Line 5 of Biting Together
Six in the fifth place · 噬嗑 shì kè
爻辭 The line text
噬乾肉，得黃金，貞厲，无咎。The fifth line, divided, shows one gnawing at dried flesh, and finding the yellow gold. Let him be firm and correct, realising the peril (of his position). There will be no error.
貞厲无咎，得當也。'Let him be firm and correct, realising the peril (of his position), and there will be no error:'—he will possess every quality appropriate (to his position and task).
In plain words
Line five is the ruler of the hexagram: 'bites dried meat and gets yellow gold.' Yellow is the colour of the centre and gold stands for firmness, so the line is credited with exactly the qualities a judge needs — it is a yin line in the central place, and the Tuan says that 'the yielding attains the centre and acts above; though not in its proper place, this is favourable for applying constraints.' The text adds 'steadiness amid danger, no blame': the ruler who decides a hard case is exposed, and must be correct to be safe. The small Image sums it up as 'attaining what is fitting' (得當也).
If this line is changing
You are the one who must decide, and the decision will be examined; stay in the middle, be firm, and treat the exposure as part of the job rather than a reason to soften.
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 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 離 Li (the Clinging) (fire).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 2: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
噬嗑 Biting Together becomes ䷘ 25 无妄 Without Falsehood
Thunder under heaven: things moving by their innate nature. Great success for what is correct and unplanned; scheming brings misfortune, and some misfortune simply arrives undeserved.
What it becomes25 · 无妄 Without Falsehoodwú wàngThe six lines of 噬嗑 Biting Together
- 初九Nine at the beginningfeet in the stocks · stopped early · no blame
- 六二Six in the second placebiting soft flesh · easy and deep · riding the strong
- 六三Six in the third placeold dried meat · meeting poison · wrong place
- 九四Nine in the fourth placemeat on the bone · metal arrows · hard but right
- 六五Six in the fifth placedried meat · yellow gold · firm amid danger
- 上九Nine at the topthe cangue · deaf to warning · evil
Read 噬嗑 Biting Together for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the fifth place of hexagram 21, Biting Together, mean?
- Line five is the ruler of the hexagram: 'bites dried meat and gets yellow gold.' Yellow is the colour of the centre and gold stands for firmness, so the line is credited with exactly the qualities a judge needs — it is a yin line in the central place, and the Tuan says that 'the yielding attains the centre and acts above; though not in its proper place, this is favourable for applying constraints.' The text adds 'steadiness amid danger, no blame': the ruler who decides a hard case is exposed, and must be correct to be safe. The small Image sums it up as 'attaining what is fitting' (得當也).
- What does hexagram 21 become when line 5 changes?
- Biting Together becomes hexagram 25, 无妄 Without Falsehood: Thunder under heaven: things moving by their innate nature. Great success for what is correct and unplanned; scheming brings misfortune, and some misfortune simply arrives undeserved.
- Is line 5 of Biting Together 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. 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).