Hexagram 35, line 2
六二Line 2 of Advancing
Six in the second place · 晉 jìn
爻辭 The line text
晉如，愁如，貞吉。受茲介福，于其王母。The second line, divided, shows its subject with the appearance of advancing, and yet of being sorrowful. If he be firm and correct, there will be good fortune. He will receive this great blessing from his grandmother.
受茲介福，以中正也。'He will receive this great blessing:'—for he is in the central place and the correct position for him.
In plain words
Advancing, and sorrowful. Line two is yin in a yin place at the centre of Kun — as correct and central as a line can be — but its correspondent at five is also yin, so there is no partner above to answer it; it goes forward alone and feels it. The text promises that steadiness brings good fortune and 'a great blessing from the grandmother' (王母), which Cheng Yi identifies with the yin ruler at five: the recognition it lacks by correspondence will come by virtue. The small Image makes this explicit: the blessing comes 'because of centrality and correctness' (以中正也).
If this line is changing
Go on doing the right thing even though it feels unsupported and a little sad; the acknowledgement comes from above, later, and on the strength of your steadiness rather than your connections.
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 is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 5: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
晉 Advancing becomes ䷿ 64 未濟 Not Yet Crossed
Fire over water, every line out of place: not yet across. Success is possible — but the little fox, nearly over, wets its tail; nothing is favourable yet. The Book ends with the crossing still ahead.
What it becomes64 · 未濟 Not Yet Crossedwèi jìThe six lines of 晉 Advancing
- 初六Six at the beginningpressed back · not yet trusted · generosity
- 六二Six in the second placeadvancing in sorrow · the grandmother's blessing · central and correct
- 六三Six in the third placetrusted by all · moving upward together · regret vanishes
- 九四Nine in the fourth placethe marmot · greedy advance · out of place
- 六五Six in the fifth placegain and loss aside · the bright ruler · going forward
- 上九Nine at the topadvancing with horns · one's own city · not yet glorious
Read 晉 Advancing for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the second place of hexagram 35, Advancing, mean?
- Advancing, and sorrowful. Line two is yin in a yin place at the centre of Kun — as correct and central as a line can be — but its correspondent at five is also yin, so there is no partner above to answer it; it goes forward alone and feels it. The text promises that steadiness brings good fortune and 'a great blessing from the grandmother' (王母), which Cheng Yi identifies with the yin ruler at five: the recognition it lacks by correspondence will come by virtue. The small Image makes this explicit: the blessing comes 'because of centrality and correctness' (以中正也).
- What does hexagram 35 become when line 2 changes?
- Advancing becomes hexagram 64, 未濟 Not Yet Crossed: Fire over water, every line out of place: not yet across. Success is possible — but the little fox, nearly over, wets its tail; nothing is favourable yet. The Book ends with the crossing still ahead.
- Is line 2 of Advancing 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).