Hexagram 26, line 1
初九Line 1 of Great Accumulation
Nine at the beginning · 大畜 dà chù
爻辭 The line text
有厲利已。The first line, undivided, shows its subject in a position of peril. It will be advantageous for him to stop his advance.
有厲利已，不犯災也。'He is in a position of peril; it will be advantageous for him to stop his advance:'—he should not rashly expose himself to calamity.
In plain words
'There is danger; it is favourable to stop.' The first line is yang at the bottom of Qian, strength itself, eager to rise — and directly above it the whole upper trigram Gen is a mountain whose purpose is to hold strength in. Its correspondent, line four, is the one who puts the board on the young bull's horns; to push forward now is to push against the one who restrains you. The small Image says stopping means 'not courting disaster' (不犯災也). In Da Chu the lower lines are the ones being tamed, and this is the first and easiest lesson: strength that is just beginning should accept the check.
If this line is changing
You are being held back by someone or something stronger than your eagerness, and that is for the best; stop before the first obstacle rather than testing it.
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 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- 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
大畜 Great Accumulation becomes ䷑ 18 蠱 Corruption
Wind below the mountain: stagnation that has bred corruption, like a bowl of worms. Great success for the one who steps in to repair what earlier generations spoiled.
What it becomes18 · 蠱 CorruptiongǔThe six lines of 大畜 Great Accumulation
- 初九Nine at the beginningdanger ahead · stop · held back
- 九二Nine in the second placeaxle strap off · cannot move · no blame
- 九三Nine in the third placegood horses · daily practice · like-minded above
- 六四Six in the fourth placeyoung bull · check it early · great good fortune
- 六五Six in the fifth placegelded boar · remove the root · good fortune
- 上九Nine at the topheaven's road · accumulation complete · wide open
Read 大畜 Great Accumulation for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine at the beginning of hexagram 26, Great Accumulation, mean?
- 'There is danger; it is favourable to stop.' The first line is yang at the bottom of Qian, strength itself, eager to rise — and directly above it the whole upper trigram Gen is a mountain whose purpose is to hold strength in. Its correspondent, line four, is the one who puts the board on the young bull's horns; to push forward now is to push against the one who restrains you. The small Image says stopping means 'not courting disaster' (不犯災也). In Da Chu the lower lines are the ones being tamed, and this is the first and easiest lesson: strength that is just beginning should accept the check.
- What does hexagram 26 become when line 1 changes?
- Great Accumulation becomes hexagram 18, 蠱 Corruption: Wind below the mountain: stagnation that has bred corruption, like a bowl of worms. Great success for the one who steps in to repair what earlier generations spoiled.
- Is line 1 of Great Accumulation 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).