Hexagram 37, line 6
上九Line 6 of Household
Nine at the top · 家人 jiā rén
爻辭 The line text
有孚威如，終吉。The topmost line, undivided, shows its subject possessed of sincerity and arrayed in majesty. In the end there will be good fortune.
威如之吉，反身之謂也。'The good fortune connected with the display of majesty' describes (the result of) the recovery of the true character.
In plain words
Sincerity, and a dignified presence: in the end, good fortune. The top line is yang at the end of Xun and of the whole hexagram — the elder of the house, past the age of giving orders, whose authority now comes from character. 威如 is not severity (that was line three) but the gravity people naturally defer to. The small Image locates its source: 'it is called turning back on oneself' (反身之謂). The last word of Jia Ren is that a household is governed, finally, by the self-examination of the person at its head, and the text's 終吉 acknowledges that this takes a lifetime to arrive at.
If this line is changing
Lead by holding yourself to the standard you want others to keep, and let your authority be felt rather than announced; dignity that comes from self-examination lasts.
Where the line stands
- A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang 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 upper trigram 巽 Xun (the Gentle) (wind).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 3: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
家人 Household 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 家人 Household
- 初九Nine at the beginningsetting boundaries · at the outset · before wills change
- 六二Six in the second placethe inner place · nourishing · gentle correctness
- 九三Nine in the third placesternness · laughter and chatter · losing measure
- 六四Six in the fourth placeenriching the household · compliance in place · great good fortune
- 九五Nine in the fifth placethe king comes home · mutual love · no anxiety
- 上九Nine at the topsincerity and dignity · turning inward · good fortune in the end
Read 家人 Household for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine at the top of hexagram 37, Household, mean?
- Sincerity, and a dignified presence: in the end, good fortune. The top line is yang at the end of Xun and of the whole hexagram — the elder of the house, past the age of giving orders, whose authority now comes from character. 威如 is not severity (that was line three) but the gravity people naturally defer to. The small Image locates its source: 'it is called turning back on oneself' (反身之謂). The last word of Jia Ren is that a household is governed, finally, by the self-examination of the person at its head, and the text's 終吉 acknowledges that this takes a lifetime to arrive at.
- What does hexagram 37 become when line 6 changes?
- Household 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 6 of Household 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.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).