Hexagram 24, line 3
六三Line 3 of Returning
Six in the third place · 復 fù
爻辭 The line text
頻復，厲无咎。The third line, divided, shows one who has made repeated returns. The position is perilous, but there will be no error.
頻復之厲，義无咎也。Notwithstanding 'the perilous position of him who has made many returns,' there will be no error through (his aiming after righteousness).
In plain words
Line three 'returns again and again (頻復): danger, but no blame.' It sits at the top of Zhen, movement, a yin line in a yang place, unstable — the one who keeps slipping and keeps coming back. The text calls the position perilous because each return follows another lapse, and the small Image says that in principle there is no blame (義無咎也): the lapses are faults, but the returning is not. 朱熹 adds that this line is not to be despised, since one who turns back repeatedly is still turning back; it is the opposite of the top line, which is lost altogether.
If this line is changing
Falling back into the same mistake is dangerous, but coming back from it each time is not a fault; do not let shame at the repetition stop you from returning once more.
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 震 Zhen (the Arousing) (thunder).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 6: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
復 Returning becomes ䷣ 36 明夷 Brightness Hidden
The sun sunk under the earth: the light wounded. In dark times it is favourable to persevere — hide your brilliance, as the ancient sage did under a tyrant.
What it becomes36 · 明夷 Brightness Hiddenmíng yíThe 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 Six in the third place of hexagram 24, Returning, mean?
- Line three 'returns again and again (頻復): danger, but no blame.' It sits at the top of Zhen, movement, a yin line in a yang place, unstable — the one who keeps slipping and keeps coming back. The text calls the position perilous because each return follows another lapse, and the small Image says that in principle there is no blame (義無咎也): the lapses are faults, but the returning is not. 朱熹 adds that this line is not to be despised, since one who turns back repeatedly is still turning back; it is the opposite of the top line, which is lost altogether.
- What does hexagram 24 become when line 3 changes?
- Returning becomes hexagram 36, 明夷 Brightness Hidden: The sun sunk under the earth: the light wounded. In dark times it is favourable to persevere — hide your brilliance, as the ancient sage did under a tyrant.
- Is line 3 of Returning 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).