Hexagram 24, line 1
初九Line 1 of Returning
Nine at the beginning · 復 fù
爻辭 The line text
不遠復，无祗悔，元吉。The first line, undivided, shows its subject returning (from an error) of no great extent, which would not proceed to anything requiring repentance. There will be great good fortune.
不遠之復，以修身也。'Returning (from an error) of no great extent' is the prelude to the cultivation of the person.
In plain words
Fu is one strong line returning at the bottom beneath five yielding ones, the winter solstice, and line one is that returning yang: the ruler of the hexagram and the only line to receive the highest verdict, 'great good fortune'. Its text is 'returning before going far, no regret to speak of.' The small Image says this is how one cultivates oneself (以修身也). The 繫辭 attaches the line to Yan Hui, who 'never failed to know when he had done something not good, and knowing it, never did it again' — the error is caught at its first step, which is why there is nothing to regret.
If this line is changing
You have strayed only a little; turn back now, at once, while there is nothing to apologise for — this is the best moment the hexagram offers.
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 belongs to the lower trigram 震 Zhen (the Arousing) (thunder).
- It corresponds (應) with line 4: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
復 Returning becomes ䷁ 2 坤 Earth
Pure yin: the earth that carries everything. Strength through receptiveness, patience and service; success comes from following a good lead rather than forcing the front, like a mare steady on the open plain.
What it becomes2 · 坤 EarthkūnThe six lines of 復 Returning
- 初九Nine at the beginningreturn before going far · no regret · the ruler of Return
- 六二Six in the second placea fine return · yielding to the good · next to the yang
- 六三Six in the third placerepeated return · danger · no blame
- 六四Six in the fourth placereturning alone · midway among the many · following the way
- 六五Six in the fifth placeearnest return · self-examination · central
- 上六Six at the toplost return · calamity · against the ruler's way
Read 復 Returning for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine at the beginning of hexagram 24, Returning, mean?
- Fu is one strong line returning at the bottom beneath five yielding ones, the winter solstice, and line one is that returning yang: the ruler of the hexagram and the only line to receive the highest verdict, 'great good fortune'. Its text is 'returning before going far, no regret to speak of.' The small Image says this is how one cultivates oneself (以修身也). The 繫辭 attaches the line to Yan Hui, who 'never failed to know when he had done something not good, and knowing it, never did it again' — the error is caught at its first step, which is why there is nothing to regret.
- What does hexagram 24 become when line 1 changes?
- Returning becomes hexagram 2, 坤 Earth: Pure yin: the earth that carries everything. Strength through receptiveness, patience and service; success comes from following a good lead rather than forcing the front, like a mare steady on the open plain.
- Is line 1 of Returning 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).