Hexagram 25, line 4
九四Line 4 of Without Falsehood
Nine in the fourth place · 无妄 wú wàng
爻辭 The line text
可貞，无咎。The fourth line, undivided, shows (a case) in which, if its subject can remain firm and correct, there will be no error.
可貞无咎，固有之也。'If he can remain firm and correct there will be no error:'—he firmly holds fast (his correctness).
In plain words
'It is possible to stay firm; no blame.' Line four is the first line of the upper trigram Qian, a yang line in a yin place, and it has no correspondent — line one is yang too, so there is no partner below to draw it into action. The text offers only the modest permission 可貞, 'one can be firm', not a promise of achievement. Zhu Xi reads it exactly so: strong by nature but without support, this line may keep its ground but should not undertake anything. The small Image adds 固有之也 — hold fast to what is inherently yours. Innocence in the upper trigram begins by not reaching for what is not one's own.
If this line is changing
Keep what is yours and keep your position; this is not a line for initiatives, and the safest honesty right now is simply not to overreach.
Where the line stands
- A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang 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 upper trigram 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 1: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
无妄 Without Falsehood becomes ䷩ 42 益 Augmenting
Wind and thunder strengthening each other: increase. Favourable to undertake something and to cross the great river; those above give to those below, and everyone rejoices.
What it becomes42 · 益 AugmentingyìThe six lines of 无妄 Without Falsehood
- 初九Nine at the beginningsincere start · go forward · the will fulfilled
- 六二Six in the second placeno harvest in mind · unforced work · ready for anything
- 六三Six in the third placeundeserved loss · the tethered ox · wrong place
- 九四Nine in the fourth placehold firm · no partner · what is yours
- 九五Nine in the fifth placeunprovoked trouble · do not meddle · it passes
- 上九Nine at the toptime exhausted · do not act · innocence overstretched
Read 无妄 Without Falsehood for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the fourth place of hexagram 25, Without Falsehood, mean?
- 'It is possible to stay firm; no blame.' Line four is the first line of the upper trigram Qian, a yang line in a yin place, and it has no correspondent — line one is yang too, so there is no partner below to draw it into action. The text offers only the modest permission 可貞, 'one can be firm', not a promise of achievement. Zhu Xi reads it exactly so: strong by nature but without support, this line may keep its ground but should not undertake anything. The small Image adds 固有之也 — hold fast to what is inherently yours. Innocence in the upper trigram begins by not reaching for what is not one's own.
- What does hexagram 25 become when line 4 changes?
- Without Falsehood becomes hexagram 42, 益 Augmenting: Wind and thunder strengthening each other: increase. Favourable to undertake something and to cross the great river; those above give to those below, and everyone rejoices.
- Is line 4 of Without Falsehood 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).