Hexagram 34, line 6
上六Line 6 of Great Vigor
Six at the top · 大壯 dà zhuàng
爻辭 The line text
羝羊觸藩，不能退，不能遂，无攸利，艱則吉。The sixth line, divided, shows (one who may be compared to) the ram butting against the fence, and unable either to retreat, or to advance as he would fain do. There will not be advantage in any respect; but if he realise the difficulty (of his position), there will be good fortune.
不能退，不能遂，不詳也。艱則吉，咎不長也。'He is unable either to retreat or to advance:'—this is owing to his want of care. 'If he realise the difficulty (of his position), there will be good fortune:'—his error will not be prolonged.
In plain words
The ram butts the fence and can neither back out nor break through. The top line is yin at the end of Zhen, movement that has run to its limit: all the vigour of the hexagram has carried it here, and here it has no strength left to use. The text says nothing is favourable, then adds the one exit — 'if he realises the difficulty, good fortune'. The small Image explains both halves: the stuck horns come from carelessness (不詳), and the good fortune comes because once the difficulty is acknowledged the fault 'does not last long' (咎不長). It corresponds to line three, the other ram, and shares its predicament in a weaker body.
If this line is changing
Stop pushing and admit you are stuck; the moment you treat the situation as genuinely hard instead of as a fight you are about to win, it begins to loosen.
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 震 Zhen (the Arousing) (thunder).
- 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
大壯 Great Vigor becomes ䷍ 14 大有 Great Holdings
Fire above heaven: the sun lighting everything. Great holdings and supreme success — one yielding line at the centre holds the respect of all the strong ones.
What it becomes14 · 大有 Great Holdingsdà yǒuThe 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 Six at the top of hexagram 34, Great Vigor, mean?
- The ram butts the fence and can neither back out nor break through. The top line is yin at the end of Zhen, movement that has run to its limit: all the vigour of the hexagram has carried it here, and here it has no strength left to use. The text says nothing is favourable, then adds the one exit — 'if he realises the difficulty, good fortune'. The small Image explains both halves: the stuck horns come from carelessness (不詳), and the good fortune comes because once the difficulty is acknowledged the fault 'does not last long' (咎不長). It corresponds to line three, the other ram, and shares its predicament in a weaker body.
- What does hexagram 34 become when line 6 changes?
- Great Vigor becomes hexagram 14, 大有 Great Holdings: Fire above heaven: the sun lighting everything. Great holdings and supreme success — one yielding line at the centre holds the respect of all the strong ones.
- Is line 6 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).