Hexagram 3, line 2
六二Line 2 of Sprouting
Six in the second place · 屯 zhūn
爻辭 The line text
屯如邅如，乘馬班如。匪寇婚媾，女子貞不字，十年乃字。The second line, divided, shows (its subject) distressed and obliged to return; (even) the horses of her chariot (also) seem to be retreating. (But) not by a spoiler (is she assailed), but by one who seeks her to be his wife. The young lady maintains her firm correctness, and declines a union. After ten years she will be united, and have children.
六二之難，乘剛也。十年乃字，反常也。The difficulty (to the subject of) the second line, divided, arises from its place over the undivided line below it. 'The union and children after ten years' shows things resuming their regular course.
In plain words
A woman on horseback stops and turns; what approaches is not a robber but a suitor; she stays steadfast and does not accept, and only after ten years does she accept. Line two is yin, central and correct, and it corresponds properly to the ruler at five. But it sits directly on the strong first line, and the small Image names that as the whole difficulty: 'she rides upon a hard line' (乘剛也). The nearby yang presses to take her; the distant yang is the right match. Ten years, the end of a cycle, is when 'things return to normal' (反常也) and she can go to the one she belongs with. Zhu Xi reads it as a lesson in not accepting the nearest offer merely because it is near.
If this line is changing
The offer in front of you is not hostile, but it is not the right one; keep your course and accept a long wait rather than settling for what is closest.
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 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 震 Zhen (the Arousing) (thunder).
- It corresponds (應) with line 5: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
屯 Sprouting becomes ䷻ 60 節 Measure
Water above the lake: the lake holds just so much. Success through limits — but bitter, excessive limitation cannot be sustained; measure that fits is the point.
What it becomes60 · 節 MeasurejiéThe six lines of 屯 Sprouting
- 初九Nine at the beginninghesitating · staying put · winning the people
- 六二Six in the second placehorses turning back · not a robber · ten years
- 六三Six in the third placehunting without a guide · lost in the forest · better to give up
- 六四Six in the fourth placehorses turning back · seeking union · going is good
- 九五Nine in the fifth placeblocked generosity · small is fine · great is dangerous
- 上六Six at the tophorses turning back · weeping blood · cannot last
Read 屯 Sprouting for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the second place of hexagram 3, Sprouting, mean?
- A woman on horseback stops and turns; what approaches is not a robber but a suitor; she stays steadfast and does not accept, and only after ten years does she accept. Line two is yin, central and correct, and it corresponds properly to the ruler at five. But it sits directly on the strong first line, and the small Image names that as the whole difficulty: 'she rides upon a hard line' (乘剛也). The nearby yang presses to take her; the distant yang is the right match. Ten years, the end of a cycle, is when 'things return to normal' (反常也) and she can go to the one she belongs with. Zhu Xi reads it as a lesson in not accepting the nearest offer merely because it is near.
- What does hexagram 3 become when line 2 changes?
- Sprouting becomes hexagram 60, 節 Measure: Water above the lake: the lake holds just so much. Success through limits — but bitter, excessive limitation cannot be sustained; measure that fits is the point.
- Is line 2 of Sprouting 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).