Hexagram 33, line 5
九五Line 5 of Withdrawal
Nine in the fifth place · 遯 dùn
爻辭 The line text
嘉遯，貞吉。The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject retiring in an admirable way. With firm correctness there will be good fortune.
嘉遯貞吉，以正志也。'He retires in an admirable way, and with firm correctness there will be good fortune:'—this is due to the rectitude of his purpose.
In plain words
An admirable retreat, and good fortune with steadiness. Line five is the ruler of the hexagram — yang, central and in its correct place, answered by the yin line at two. The Judgment's commentary says of this line that 'the firm is in its proper place and responded to, and acts according to the time'. Withdrawing from here is neither flight nor abandonment: the ruler steps back at the right moment, with the right people still bound to him, in good order. The small Image gives the reason for the good fortune: the purpose is correct (以正志也).
If this line is changing
Step back now, openly and in good order, while your standing is intact; a retreat made at the right time from a strong position is the one people later call wise.
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 is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the upper trigram 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- It corresponds (應) with line 2: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
遯 Withdrawal becomes ䷷ 56 旅 Traveling
Fire on the mountain: the wanderer who does not stay long. Small success; perseverance brings good fortune to the traveller — be modest, correct, and careful with your resources and companions.
What it becomes56 · 旅 TravelinglǚThe 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 fifth place of hexagram 33, Withdrawal, mean?
- An admirable retreat, and good fortune with steadiness. Line five is the ruler of the hexagram — yang, central and in its correct place, answered by the yin line at two. The Judgment's commentary says of this line that 'the firm is in its proper place and responded to, and acts according to the time'. Withdrawing from here is neither flight nor abandonment: the ruler steps back at the right moment, with the right people still bound to him, in good order. The small Image gives the reason for the good fortune: the purpose is correct (以正志也).
- What does hexagram 33 become when line 5 changes?
- Withdrawal becomes hexagram 56, 旅 Traveling: Fire on the mountain: the wanderer who does not stay long. Small success; perseverance brings good fortune to the traveller — be modest, correct, and careful with your resources and companions.
- Is line 5 of Withdrawal 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).