Hexagram 28, line 2
九二Line 2 of Great Excess
Nine in the second place · 大過 dà guò
爻辭 The line text
枯楊生稊，老夫得其女妻，无不利。The second line, undivided, shows a decayed willow producing shoots, or an old husband in possession of his young wife. There will be advantage in every way.
老夫女妻，過以相與也。'An old husband and a young wife:'—such association is extraordinary.
In plain words
'A withered poplar puts out shoots; an old man takes a young wife: nothing is unfavourable.' Line two is yang in a central place, one of the four strong lines that make the ridgepole too heavy, but it sits directly on the weak first line and draws new life from that nearness. It has no correspondent — line five is yang as well — so the tradition reads its fortune through proximity: the strong line 'associates beyond the usual measure' (過以相與), as the small Image puts it, with the yin below. In extraordinary times an unusual alliance can be exactly what renews what seemed dried up. Because the shoot grows from the root, the renewal lasts.
If this line is changing
Something you had written off can revive through an unlikely partnership; accept help from a quarter that does not match you on paper, as long as it reaches the root.
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 is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 巽 Xun (the Gentle) (wind).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 5: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
大過 Great Excess becomes ䷞ 31 咸 Sensing
Lake on the mountain: the mountain yields and the lake moistens it — mutual attraction. Success; taking a wife brings good fortune; influence that comes from genuine, emptied-out receptiveness.
What it becomes31 · 咸 SensingxiánThe six lines of 大過 Great Excess
- 初六Six at the beginningwhite rushes · extreme care · weak below
- 九二Nine in the second placewithered poplar sprouts · unlikely pairing · renewal
- 九三Nine in the third placeridgepole sags · too rigid · refusing help
- 九四Nine in the fourth placeridgepole holds · tempered strength · no other attachments
- 九五Nine in the fifth placewithered poplar flowers · brief bloom · neither praise nor blame
- 上六Six at the topin over the head · going under · no blame
Read 大過 Great Excess for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the second place of hexagram 28, Great Excess, mean?
- 'A withered poplar puts out shoots; an old man takes a young wife: nothing is unfavourable.' Line two is yang in a central place, one of the four strong lines that make the ridgepole too heavy, but it sits directly on the weak first line and draws new life from that nearness. It has no correspondent — line five is yang as well — so the tradition reads its fortune through proximity: the strong line 'associates beyond the usual measure' (過以相與), as the small Image puts it, with the yin below. In extraordinary times an unusual alliance can be exactly what renews what seemed dried up. Because the shoot grows from the root, the renewal lasts.
- What does hexagram 28 become when line 2 changes?
- Great Excess becomes hexagram 31, 咸 Sensing: Lake on the mountain: the mountain yields and the lake moistens it — mutual attraction. Success; taking a wife brings good fortune; influence that comes from genuine, emptied-out receptiveness.
- Is line 2 of Great Excess 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. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).