Is line 1 of Advancing 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.

Hexagram 35, line 1

初六Line 1 of Advancing

Six at the beginning · 晉 jìn

pressed backnot yet trustedgenerosity

爻辭 The line text

晉如，摧如，貞吉。罔孚，裕无咎。

The first line, divided, shows one wishing to advance, and (at the same time) kept back. Let him be firm and correct, and there will be good fortune. If trust be not reposed in him, let him maintain a large and generous mind, and there will be no error.

Its symbolism

晉如，摧如；獨行正也。裕无咎；未受命也。

'He appears wishing to advance, but (at the same time) being kept back:'—all-alone he pursues the correct course. 'Let him maintain a large and generous mind, and there will be no error:'—he has not yet received an official charge.

In plain words

Wanting to advance and being pushed back. At the bottom of Jin the sun has not yet cleared the horizon; line one is yin in a yang place, and its correspondent at four is the uncertain 'marmot' line, so the support it should have is not there. The text says steadiness brings good fortune, and then addresses the sting directly: if no one trusts you yet, be broad and unhurried (裕) and there is no fault. The small Image explains both parts: the line 'walks the correct path alone' (獨行正), and it can afford generosity because it 'has not yet received a charge' (未受命) — nothing has been entrusted to it, so nothing can be lost.

If this line is changing

If your first attempt to step forward is rebuffed and no one yet believes in you, do not force the door or take it personally; keep your conduct correct and give the situation room.

Where the line stands

A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin 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 lower trigram 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
It corresponds (應) with line 4: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.

之卦 When this line moves

晉 Advancing becomes ䷔ 21 噬嗑 Biting Together

Thunder and lightning: jaws closing on an obstacle. Something is in the way and must be bitten through — favourable for administering justice.

What it becomes21 · 噬嗑 Biting Togethershì kè

The six lines of 晉 Advancing

Read 晉 Advancing for a question about

Love and relationships Work and career A yes-or-no decision

Questions about this line

What does Six at the beginning of hexagram 35, Advancing, mean?: Wanting to advance and being pushed back. At the bottom of Jin the sun has not yet cleared the horizon; line one is yin in a yang place, and its correspondent at four is the uncertain 'marmot' line, so the support it should have is not there. The text says steadiness brings good fortune, and then addresses the sting directly: if no one trusts you yet, be broad and unhurried (裕) and there is no fault. The small Image explains both parts: the line 'walks the correct path alone' (獨行正), and it can afford generosity because it 'has not yet received a charge' (未受命) — nothing has been entrusted to it, so nothing can be lost.
What does hexagram 35 become when line 1 changes?: Advancing becomes hexagram 21, 噬嗑 Biting Together: Thunder and lightning: jaws closing on an obstacle. Something is in the way and must be bitten through — favourable for administering justice.
Is line 1 of Advancing 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.

Cast a reading Hexagram 35 in full Changing lines explained

Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).