Hexagram 28, line 5
九五Line 5 of Great Excess
Nine in the fifth place · 大過 dà guò
爻辭 The line text
枯楊生華，老婦得其士夫，无咎无譽。The fifth line, undivided, shows a decayed willow producing flowers, or an old wife in possession of her young husband. There will be occasion neither for blame nor for praise.
枯楊生華，何可久也。老婦士夫，亦可醜也。'A decayed willow produces flowers:'—but how can this secure its long continuance? 'An old wife and a young husband:'—this also is a thing to be ashamed of.
In plain words
'A withered poplar puts out flowers; an old woman takes a young husband: no blame, no praise.' Line five mirrors line two but with the pairing reversed and the verdict cooler. It is yang in the central place of Dui, and the yin it associates with is the top line above it, the end of the hexagram rather than its root. A flower on a dead tree is pretty and brief; the small Image asks, 'how can it last?' (何可久也), and adds that this pairing is 'also something to be ashamed of'. The ruler of the hexagram achieves nothing wrong here, but nothing durable either — an excess of strength spent on a show rather than on renewal.
If this line is changing
What you are about to do will look good and lead nowhere; if you proceed, do it knowing it is a gesture, and do not mistake the blossom for a harvest.
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 is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the upper trigram 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 2: 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 ䷟ 32 恆 Constancy
Thunder and wind moving together without end: the lasting. Success and no blame for persevering in the right way; constancy is not standing still but moving reliably.
What it becomes32 · 恆 ConstancyhéngThe 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 fifth place of hexagram 28, Great Excess, mean?
- 'A withered poplar puts out flowers; an old woman takes a young husband: no blame, no praise.' Line five mirrors line two but with the pairing reversed and the verdict cooler. It is yang in the central place of Dui, and the yin it associates with is the top line above it, the end of the hexagram rather than its root. A flower on a dead tree is pretty and brief; the small Image asks, 'how can it last?' (何可久也), and adds that this pairing is 'also something to be ashamed of'. The ruler of the hexagram achieves nothing wrong here, but nothing durable either — an excess of strength spent on a show rather than on renewal.
- What does hexagram 28 become when line 5 changes?
- Great Excess becomes hexagram 32, 恆 Constancy: Thunder and wind moving together without end: the lasting. Success and no blame for persevering in the right way; constancy is not standing still but moving reliably.
- Is line 5 of Great Excess 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. 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).