Hexagram 35, line 5
六五Line 5 of Advancing
Six in the fifth place · 晉 jìn
爻辭 The line text
悔亡，失得勿恤，往吉，无不利。The fifth line, divided, shows how all occasion for repentance disappears (from its subject). (But) let him not concern himself about whether he shall fail or succeed. To advance will be fortunate, and in every way advantageous.
失得勿恤，往有慶也。'Let him not concern himself whether he fails or succeeds:'—his movement in advance will afford ground for congratulation.
In plain words
Regret disappears; do not worry about failing or succeeding; to go forward is fortunate and nothing is unfavourable. Line five is the ruler of Jin — the yin line that the Judgment's commentary says 'advances and moves upward', sitting at the centre of Li, the sun. It is yin in a yang place, which would ordinarily be a cause for regret, and the text names the regret only to dismiss it. What makes the line work is that it does not calculate: 失得勿恤, be unconcerned with gain and loss. A bright ruler who trusts the obedient lines below rather than keeping score is one whose 'advance brings cause for celebration' (往有慶), says the small Image.
If this line is changing
Move forward without tallying what you might win or lose; the openness itself is what draws people to you and makes the advance go well.
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 is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the upper trigram 離 Li (the Clinging) (fire).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 2: 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 ䷋ 12 否 Blockage
Heaven and earth pulling apart: nothing communicates. The great departs, the small arrives; the unworthy prosper while the worthy keep still.
What it becomes12 · 否 BlockagepǐThe 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 fifth place of hexagram 35, Advancing, mean?
- Regret disappears; do not worry about failing or succeeding; to go forward is fortunate and nothing is unfavourable. Line five is the ruler of Jin — the yin line that the Judgment's commentary says 'advances and moves upward', sitting at the centre of Li, the sun. It is yin in a yang place, which would ordinarily be a cause for regret, and the text names the regret only to dismiss it. What makes the line work is that it does not calculate: 失得勿恤, be unconcerned with gain and loss. A bright ruler who trusts the obedient lines below rather than keeping score is one whose 'advance brings cause for celebration' (往有慶), says the small Image.
- What does hexagram 35 become when line 5 changes?
- Advancing becomes hexagram 12, 否 Blockage: Heaven and earth pulling apart: nothing communicates. The great departs, the small arrives; the unworthy prosper while the worthy keep still.
- Is line 5 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. 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).