Hexagram 31, line 3
九三Line 3 of Sensing
Nine in the third place · 咸 xián
爻辭 The line text
咸其股，執其隨，往吝。The third line, undivided, shows one moving his thighs, and keeping close hold of those whom he follows. Going forward (in this way) will cause regret.
咸其股，亦不處也。志在隨人，所執下也。'He moves his thighs:'—he still does not (want to) rest in his place. His will is set on 'following others:'—what he holds in his grasp is low.
In plain words
Influence reaches the thighs, which follow whatever the body does. Line three is the top of the lower trigram Gen, 'keeping still', yet it is a yang line in a yang place, restless and ready to go — and it 'holds on to those it follows', going along with the lines below it and chasing the one above. To go forward like this brings humiliation. The small Image is blunt: this line too cannot stay put, its will is set on following others, and what it clings to is beneath it (所執下).
If this line is changing
Do not let yourself be carried along by what others want or by a sudden pull; a response that is only an echo of someone else's movement ends in regret.
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 艮 Gen (Keeping Still) (mountain).
- It corresponds (應) with line 6: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
咸 Sensing becomes ䷬ 45 萃 Assembly
The lake over the earth: waters gathering. Success; the king approaches the temple; see the great man — people gather around sincerity, and a great offering brings good fortune.
What it becomes45 · 萃 AssemblycuìThe six lines of 咸 Sensing
- 初六Six at the beginningfirst stirring · intention · too early
- 六二Six in the second placerestlessness · stay put · wait to be moved
- 九三Nine in the third placefollowing others · impulse · regret
- 九四Nine in the fourth placethe heart · steadiness · scattered thoughts
- 九五Nine in the fifth placethe back · no regret · beyond feeling
- 上六Six at the topwords only · the mouth · shallow influence
Read 咸 Sensing for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the third place of hexagram 31, Sensing, mean?
- Influence reaches the thighs, which follow whatever the body does. Line three is the top of the lower trigram Gen, 'keeping still', yet it is a yang line in a yang place, restless and ready to go — and it 'holds on to those it follows', going along with the lines below it and chasing the one above. To go forward like this brings humiliation. The small Image is blunt: this line too cannot stay put, its will is set on following others, and what it clings to is beneath it (所執下).
- What does hexagram 31 become when line 3 changes?
- Sensing becomes hexagram 45, 萃 Assembly: The lake over the earth: waters gathering. Success; the king approaches the temple; see the great man — people gather around sincerity, and a great offering brings good fortune.
- Is line 3 of Sensing 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).