Hexagram 38, line 2
九二Line 2 of Divergence
Nine in the second place · 睽 kuí
爻辭 The line text
遇主于巷，无咎。The second line, undivided, shows its subject happening to meet with his lord in a bye-passage. There will be no error.
遇主于巷，未失道也。'He happens to meet with his lord in a bye-passage:'—but he has not deviated (for this meeting) from the (proper) course.
In plain words
Meeting one's lord in a side lane: no fault. Line two is yang in a yin place but central, and it corresponds properly to the ruler at five. In an ordinary hexagram that correspondence would be a straight road; in Kui, a time of estrangement, the two can only come together by a byway — an accidental meeting, an informal channel, a conversation that was not on the agenda. The small Image anticipates the objection that this is undignified: 'he has not lost the way' (未失道). Zhu Xi notes that in such a time a roundabout meeting is the correct one; insisting on the main road would mean not meeting at all.
If this line is changing
If the direct approach to the person who matters is blocked, take the side path without embarrassment; the relationship is right even when the route is irregular.
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 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 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- It corresponds (應) with line 5: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
睽 Divergence 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 kèThe six lines of 睽 Divergence
- 初九Nine at the beginningthe lost horse returns · do not chase · meeting bad people
- 九二Nine in the second placemeeting in a lane · the indirect path · not off course
- 六三Six in the third placethe cart dragged back · humiliation · a bad start and a good end
- 九四Nine in the fourth placeisolated · meeting the good man · sincerity exchanged
- 六五Six in the fifth placebiting through skin · kin and partner · going forward
- 上九Nine at the topthe mud-covered pig · a cart of ghosts · doubts dissolve in rain
Read 睽 Divergence for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the second place of hexagram 38, Divergence, mean?
- Meeting one's lord in a side lane: no fault. Line two is yang in a yin place but central, and it corresponds properly to the ruler at five. In an ordinary hexagram that correspondence would be a straight road; in Kui, a time of estrangement, the two can only come together by a byway — an accidental meeting, an informal channel, a conversation that was not on the agenda. The small Image anticipates the objection that this is undignified: 'he has not lost the way' (未失道). Zhu Xi notes that in such a time a roundabout meeting is the correct one; insisting on the main road would mean not meeting at all.
- What does hexagram 38 become when line 2 changes?
- Divergence 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 2 of Divergence 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).