Hexagram 36, line 5
六五Line 5 of Brightness Hidden
Six in the fifth place · 明夷 míng yí
爻辭 The line text
箕子之明夷，利貞。The fifth line, divided, shows how the count of Kî fulfilled the condition indicated by Ming Î. It will be advantageous to be firm and correct.
箕子之貞，明不可息也。'With the firm correctness of the count of Kî' his brightness could not be (quite) extinguished.
In plain words
The darkening of Jizi. Line five is next to the top line, the tyrant, and bound to it — Jizi was the king's own kinsman, who could neither leave nor fight, and who hid his light by feigning madness so that his integrity survived the reign. The text says steadiness is favourable, and nothing else; there is no good fortune to promise, only survival with one's inner self intact. This line is yin in the ruler's place but is not read as the ruler here, since the dark ruler sits above it. The small Image names what the whole hexagram is about: 'his brightness could not be extinguished' (明不可息).
If this line is changing
When you cannot leave and cannot resist, dim your light deliberately and keep your inner clarity for yourself; this is not defeat but the only way to carry the light through.
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 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- 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
明夷 Brightness Hidden becomes ䷾ 63 既濟 Already Crossed
Water over fire, every line in its proper place: completion. Success in small matters; favourable to persevere — good at the start, disorder at the end if you relax.
What it becomes63 · 既濟 Already Crossedjì jìThe six lines of 明夷 Brightness Hidden
- 初九Nine at the beginningdrooping wings · leaving early · going hungry
- 六二Six in the second placewounded in the thigh · a strong horse · King Wen
- 九三Nine in the third placehunting in the south · the great chief · not too fast
- 六四Six in the fourth placethe left belly · understanding the dark · leaving by the gate
- 六五Six in the fifth placeJizi · feigned darkness · the light cannot be put out
- 上六Six at the topdarkness itself · first to heaven, then to earth · the fallen ruler
Read 明夷 Brightness Hidden for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the fifth place of hexagram 36, Brightness Hidden, mean?
- The darkening of Jizi. Line five is next to the top line, the tyrant, and bound to it — Jizi was the king's own kinsman, who could neither leave nor fight, and who hid his light by feigning madness so that his integrity survived the reign. The text says steadiness is favourable, and nothing else; there is no good fortune to promise, only survival with one's inner self intact. This line is yin in the ruler's place but is not read as the ruler here, since the dark ruler sits above it. The small Image names what the whole hexagram is about: 'his brightness could not be extinguished' (明不可息).
- What does hexagram 36 become when line 5 changes?
- Brightness Hidden becomes hexagram 63, 既濟 Already Crossed: Water over fire, every line in its proper place: completion. Success in small matters; favourable to persevere — good at the start, disorder at the end if you relax.
- Is line 5 of Brightness Hidden 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).