Hexagram 34, line 1
初九Line 1 of Great Vigor
Nine at the beginning · 大壯 dà zhuàng
爻辭 The line text
壯于趾，征凶，有孚。The first line, undivided, shows its subject manifesting his strength in his toes. But advance will lead to evil,—most certainly.
壯于趾，其孚窮也。'He manifests his vigour in his toes:'—this will certainly lead to exhaustion.
In plain words
Strength shows in the toes: at the bottom of the hexagram, in the lowest part of the body, vigour appears as an urge to march. Line one is yang in a yang place with no corresponding line to answer it — line four is yang too — so it has force and no partner, position and no mandate. The text says that to advance from here brings misfortune, 'with certainty' (有孚, which Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi read as 'assuredly' rather than 'with sincerity'). The small Image explains the certainty: strength spent in the toes 'will surely be exhausted' (其孚窮).
If this line is changing
Feeling strong at the start is not a reason to move; if you push forward on raw energy alone, you will run out of it before you arrive.
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 belongs to the lower trigram 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 4: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
大壯 Great Vigor becomes ䷟ 32 恆 Constancy
Thunder and wind moving together without end: the lasting. Success and no blame for persevering in the right way; constancy is not standing still but moving reliably.
What it becomes32 · 恆 ConstancyhéngThe six lines of 大壯 Great Vigor
- 初九Nine at the beginningstrength in the toes · charging ahead · certain exhaustion
- 九二Nine in the second placecentred strength · steadiness · the mean
- 九三Nine in the third placethe ram and the fence · brute force · the net of restraint
- 九四Nine in the fourth placethe fence gives way · axle of the great cart · strength that carries
- 六五Six in the fifth placelosing the ram · letting hardness go · ease
- 上六Six at the topstuck on the fence · neither forward nor back · difficulty brings good
Read 大壯 Great Vigor for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine at the beginning of hexagram 34, Great Vigor, mean?
- Strength shows in the toes: at the bottom of the hexagram, in the lowest part of the body, vigour appears as an urge to march. Line one is yang in a yang place with no corresponding line to answer it — line four is yang too — so it has force and no partner, position and no mandate. The text says that to advance from here brings misfortune, 'with certainty' (有孚, which Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi read as 'assuredly' rather than 'with sincerity'). The small Image explains the certainty: strength spent in the toes 'will surely be exhausted' (其孚窮).
- What does hexagram 34 become when line 1 changes?
- Great Vigor becomes hexagram 32, 恆 Constancy: Thunder and wind moving together without end: the lasting. Success and no blame for persevering in the right way; constancy is not standing still but moving reliably.
- Is line 1 of Great Vigor 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).