Hexagram 33, line 4
九四Line 4 of Withdrawal
Nine in the fourth place · 遯 dùn
爻辭 The line text
好遯，君子吉，小人否。The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject retiring notwithstanding his likings. In a superior man this will lead to good fortune; a small man cannot attain to this.
君子好遯，小人否也。'A superior man retires notwithstanding his likings; a small man cannot attain to this.'
In plain words
Retreating despite one's liking. Line four has crossed into Qian, the upper trigram of heaven, and it corresponds to the first line below — the thing it is fond of. The text says a superior person can withdraw from it and meet good fortune; a small person cannot (小人否). The small Image repeats the contrast without softening it. The line is yang in a yin place, strong but not rigid, which is exactly what this withdrawal demands: enough feeling to find it hard, enough self-command to do it anyway. Cheng Yi calls it the test of whether the will can override the heart.
If this line is changing
Leave what you are attached to while you still can do it cleanly; the difficulty you feel is the measure of the decision, not an argument against it.
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 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- 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
遯 Withdrawal becomes ䷴ 53 漸 Gradual Advance
A tree on the mountain: gradual growth. The wild goose advances stage by stage — shore, rock, dry land, tree, hill, the heights — good fortune for a marriage, success through correctness.
What it becomes53 · 漸 Gradual AdvancejiànThe six lines of 遯 Withdrawal
- 初六Six at the beginningthe tail · too late to run · stay still
- 六二Six in the second placeyellow ox hide · holding fast · unbreakable bond
- 九三Nine in the third placeentangled retreat · exhaustion · small matters only
- 九四Nine in the fourth placeretreat from what one loves · the superior person · letting go
- 九五Nine in the fifth placeadmirable retreat · right timing · correct purpose
- 上九Nine at the topample retreat · nothing holds you · no doubts
Read 遯 Withdrawal for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the fourth place of hexagram 33, Withdrawal, mean?
- Retreating despite one's liking. Line four has crossed into Qian, the upper trigram of heaven, and it corresponds to the first line below — the thing it is fond of. The text says a superior person can withdraw from it and meet good fortune; a small person cannot (小人否). The small Image repeats the contrast without softening it. The line is yang in a yin place, strong but not rigid, which is exactly what this withdrawal demands: enough feeling to find it hard, enough self-command to do it anyway. Cheng Yi calls it the test of whether the will can override the heart.
- What does hexagram 33 become when line 4 changes?
- Withdrawal becomes hexagram 53, 漸 Gradual Advance: A tree on the mountain: gradual growth. The wild goose advances stage by stage — shore, rock, dry land, tree, hill, the heights — good fortune for a marriage, success through correctness.
- Is line 4 of Withdrawal 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).