Hexagram 31, line 6
上六Line 6 of Sensing
Six at the top · 咸 xián
爻辭 The line text
咸其輔頰舌。The sixth line, divided, shows one moving his jaws and tongue.
咸其輔頰舌，滕口說也。'He moves his jaws and tongue:'—he (only) talks with loquacious mouth.
In plain words
Influence reaches the jaws, cheeks and tongue: at the top of the hexagram, at the top of the body, all that is left of feeling is talk. Line six is yin at the end of Dui, the trigram of the mouth and of pleasure, and the text gives no verdict because the matter is beneath one. The small Image fills it in: 'a flow of talk' (滕口說) — persuasion by words when the substance that should carry them is gone.
If this line is changing
When you notice that you are relying on words to move someone, stop talking; influence that is only speech has already run out.
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 belongs to the upper trigram 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- It corresponds (應) with line 3: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
咸 Sensing becomes ䷠ 33 遯 Withdrawal
Heaven withdrawing from the mountain: retreat in good time. Yin grows, and the wise step back with dignity — success through retreat, small advantage in persevering.
What it becomes33 · 遯 WithdrawaldùnThe 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 Six at the top of hexagram 31, Sensing, mean?
- Influence reaches the jaws, cheeks and tongue: at the top of the hexagram, at the top of the body, all that is left of feeling is talk. Line six is yin at the end of Dui, the trigram of the mouth and of pleasure, and the text gives no verdict because the matter is beneath one. The small Image fills it in: 'a flow of talk' (滕口說) — persuasion by words when the substance that should carry them is gone.
- What does hexagram 31 become when line 6 changes?
- Sensing becomes hexagram 33, 遯 Withdrawal: Heaven withdrawing from the mountain: retreat in good time. Yin grows, and the wise step back with dignity — success through retreat, small advantage in persevering.
- Is line 6 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).