Hexagram 38, line 3
六三Line 3 of Divergence
Six in the third place · 睽 kuí
爻辭 The line text
見輿曳，其牛掣，其人天且劓，无初有終。In the third line, divided, we see one whose carriage is dragged back, while the oxen in it are pushed back, and he is himself subjected to the shaving of his head and the cutting off of his nose. There is no good beginning, but there will be a good end.
見輿曳，位不當也。无初有終，遇剛也。'We see his carriage dragged back:'—this is indicated by the inappropriateness of the position (of the line). 'There is no (good) beginning, but there will be a (good) end:'—this arises from his meeting with the strong (subject of the topmost line).
In plain words
The cart dragged back, the ox held fast, the man branded and his nose cut off: no beginning, but an end. Line three is yin in a yang place, wedged between the yang lines at two and four, which push and pull it, and it corresponds to the top line, who at first mistakes it for an enemy. Everything in the picture is obstruction and disgrace, and the small Image attributes it to position: 'the place is not appropriate' (位不當). Then the turn: there will be a good end, 'because it meets the strong one' (遇剛) — the top line finally recognises it. This is the line of being misjudged, and of outlasting the misjudgment.
If this line is changing
You are being held back and thought badly of, and nothing you do right now will change that; endure it without retaliating, because the person who doubts you is the one who will eventually see you clearly.
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 belongs to the lower trigram 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- It corresponds (應) with line 6: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
睽 Divergence becomes ䷍ 14 大有 Great Holdings
Fire above heaven: the sun lighting everything. Great holdings and supreme success — one yielding line at the centre holds the respect of all the strong ones.
What it becomes14 · 大有 Great Holdingsdà yǒuThe 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 Six in the third place of hexagram 38, Divergence, mean?
- The cart dragged back, the ox held fast, the man branded and his nose cut off: no beginning, but an end. Line three is yin in a yang place, wedged between the yang lines at two and four, which push and pull it, and it corresponds to the top line, who at first mistakes it for an enemy. Everything in the picture is obstruction and disgrace, and the small Image attributes it to position: 'the place is not appropriate' (位不當). Then the turn: there will be a good end, 'because it meets the strong one' (遇剛) — the top line finally recognises it. This is the line of being misjudged, and of outlasting the misjudgment.
- What does hexagram 38 become when line 3 changes?
- Divergence becomes hexagram 14, 大有 Great Holdings: Fire above heaven: the sun lighting everything. Great holdings and supreme success — one yielding line at the centre holds the respect of all the strong ones.
- Is line 3 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.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).