Hexagram 24, line 4
六四Line 4 of Returning
Six in the fourth place · 復 fù
爻辭 The line text
中行獨復。The fourth line, divided, shows its subject moving right in the centre (among those represented by the other divided lines), and yet returning alone (to his proper path).
中行獨復，以從道也。'He moves right in the centre (among those represented by the other divided lines), and yet returns alone:'—his object is to pursue the (proper) path.
In plain words
Line four 'walks in the middle and returns alone.' It is in the centre of the five yielding lines, two on each side, and it is the only one of them that corresponds to the returning strong line at the bottom: so it turns back while those around it go on. The small Image says it does so to follow the way (以從道也). The text gives no verdict — 程頤 explains that a yin line with only one distant ally cannot be promised success, and that the line is praised for its direction rather than for its result. It is the hexagram's picture of a lonely but correct turn.
If this line is changing
Turning back may mean turning away from the people around you; do it anyway for the sake of what is right, without expecting them to follow or the turn to be rewarded quickly.
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 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- It corresponds (應) with line 1: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
復 Returning becomes ䷲ 51 震 Shock (Thunder)
Thunder upon thunder: shock. It arrives with alarm and is followed by laughter; the shock shakes a hundred miles, yet the sacrificial spoon is not dropped.
What it becomes51 · 震 Shock (Thunder)zhènThe 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 fourth place of hexagram 24, Returning, mean?
- Line four 'walks in the middle and returns alone.' It is in the centre of the five yielding lines, two on each side, and it is the only one of them that corresponds to the returning strong line at the bottom: so it turns back while those around it go on. The small Image says it does so to follow the way (以從道也). The text gives no verdict — 程頤 explains that a yin line with only one distant ally cannot be promised success, and that the line is praised for its direction rather than for its result. It is the hexagram's picture of a lonely but correct turn.
- What does hexagram 24 become when line 4 changes?
- Returning becomes hexagram 51, 震 Shock (Thunder): Thunder upon thunder: shock. It arrives with alarm and is followed by laughter; the shock shakes a hundred miles, yet the sacrificial spoon is not dropped.
- Is line 4 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).