Hexagram 31, line 4
九四Line 4 of Sensing
Nine in the fourth place · 咸 xián
爻辭 The line text
貞吉，悔亡，憧憧往來，朋從爾思。The fourth line, undivided, shows that firm correctness which will lead to good fortune, and prevent all occasion for repentance. If its subject be unsettled in his movements, (only) his friends will follow his purpose.
貞吉悔亡，未感害也。憧憧往來，未光大也。'Firm correctness will lead to good fortune, and prevent all occasion for repentance:'—there has not yet been any harm from (a selfish wish to) influence. 'He is unsettled in his movements:'—(his power to influence) is not yet either brilliant or great.
In plain words
The fourth line is the heart's place — Xian's text skips it and says instead: 'steadiness brings good fortune, remorse disappears.' This is the hexagram's centre of feeling, the yang line that corresponds to the toe at the bottom; the whole question of influence turns on whether the heart is steady. The second half warns what happens when it is not: 'coming and going, restless, only your friends follow your thoughts' — a mind that darts about reaches only its own circle. The small Image: steadiness means feeling has not yet been harmed; restless coming and going means it is not yet great.
If this line is changing
Keep the heart steady and sincere rather than calculating who will respond; a settled feeling reaches further than a restless one.
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 belongs to the upper trigram 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- It corresponds (應) with line 1: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
咸 Sensing becomes ䷦ 39 蹇 Impasse
Water on the mountain: a hard pass. Favourable to the southwest, not the northeast; see the great man — obstruction is a time to turn back and cultivate yourself.
What it becomes39 · 蹇 ImpassejiǎnThe 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 fourth place of hexagram 31, Sensing, mean?
- The fourth line is the heart's place — Xian's text skips it and says instead: 'steadiness brings good fortune, remorse disappears.' This is the hexagram's centre of feeling, the yang line that corresponds to the toe at the bottom; the whole question of influence turns on whether the heart is steady. The second half warns what happens when it is not: 'coming and going, restless, only your friends follow your thoughts' — a mind that darts about reaches only its own circle. The small Image: steadiness means feeling has not yet been harmed; restless coming and going means it is not yet great.
- What does hexagram 31 become when line 4 changes?
- Sensing becomes hexagram 39, 蹇 Impasse: Water on the mountain: a hard pass. Favourable to the southwest, not the northeast; see the great man — obstruction is a time to turn back and cultivate yourself.
- Is line 4 of Sensing 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.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).