Hexagram 33, line 6
上九Line 6 of Withdrawal
Nine at the top · 遯 dùn
爻辭 The line text
肥遯，无不利。The sixth line, undivided, shows its subject retiring in a noble way. It will be advantageous in every respect.
肥遯，无不利；无所疑也。'He retires in a noble way, and his doing so will be advantageous in every respect:'—he who does so has no doubts about his course.
In plain words
A fat, ample retreat — advantageous in every respect. The top line of Dun is yang at the end of Qian, the furthest point from the growing yin below, and it has no corresponding line to tie it: line three is yang too, so there is no response and nothing pulling back. Where the third line was entangled and the fourth had to tear itself away, this one simply goes, roomy and unhurried. The small Image names what makes it so free: 'there is nothing to doubt' (無所疑). It is the only line in the hexagram whose withdrawal is unqualified.
If this line is changing
Go with a light heart and without looking back; when nothing binds you and nothing is in doubt, a full withdrawal is the best thing you can do.
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 has no correspondence (無應) with line 3: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
遯 Withdrawal becomes ䷞ 31 咸 Sensing
Lake on the mountain: the mountain yields and the lake moistens it — mutual attraction. Success; taking a wife brings good fortune; influence that comes from genuine, emptied-out receptiveness.
What it becomes31 · 咸 SensingxiánThe 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 at the top of hexagram 33, Withdrawal, mean?
- A fat, ample retreat — advantageous in every respect. The top line of Dun is yang at the end of Qian, the furthest point from the growing yin below, and it has no corresponding line to tie it: line three is yang too, so there is no response and nothing pulling back. Where the third line was entangled and the fourth had to tear itself away, this one simply goes, roomy and unhurried. The small Image names what makes it so free: 'there is nothing to doubt' (無所疑). It is the only line in the hexagram whose withdrawal is unqualified.
- What does hexagram 33 become when line 6 changes?
- Withdrawal becomes hexagram 31, 咸 Sensing: Lake on the mountain: the mountain yields and the lake moistens it — mutual attraction. Success; taking a wife brings good fortune; influence that comes from genuine, emptied-out receptiveness.
- Is line 6 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).