Hexagram 38, line 5
六五Line 5 of Divergence
Six in the fifth place · 睽 kuí
爻辭 The line text
悔亡，厥宗噬膚，往何咎。The fifth line, divided, shows that (to its subject) occasion for repentance will disappear. With his relative (and minister he unites closely and readily) as if he were biting through a piece of skin. When he goes forward (with this help), what error can there be?
厥宗噬膚，往有慶也。'With his hereditary minister (he unites closely and easily) as if he were biting through a piece of skin:'—his going forward will afford ground for congratulation.
In plain words
Regret disappears; one's kinsman bites through the skin; going forward, what fault could there be? Line five is the ruler of Kui, the yin line that the Judgment's commentary says 'advances upward, gains the centre and is answered by the firm' — the firm being line two, who met it in the lane. 厥宗, 'his kin', is that partner, and biting through skin is the image of a union that meets no resistance: the teeth go straight through. The line is yin in a yang place, hence the regret that must first disappear; what dissolves it is the correspondence. The small Image: 'going forward there will be cause for celebration' (往有慶).
If this line is changing
The one person who answers you is enough; join with them easily and go forward, and do not let the general estrangement around you make you hesitate.
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 corresponds (應) with line 2: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
睽 Divergence becomes ䷉ 10 履 Stepping
Heaven above the lake: treading on the tiger's tail without being bitten. Correct conduct and courtesy carry one through danger; know your place and walk carefully.
What it becomes10 · 履 SteppinglǚThe 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 fifth place of hexagram 38, Divergence, mean?
- Regret disappears; one's kinsman bites through the skin; going forward, what fault could there be? Line five is the ruler of Kui, the yin line that the Judgment's commentary says 'advances upward, gains the centre and is answered by the firm' — the firm being line two, who met it in the lane. 厥宗, 'his kin', is that partner, and biting through skin is the image of a union that meets no resistance: the teeth go straight through. The line is yin in a yang place, hence the regret that must first disappear; what dissolves it is the correspondence. The small Image: 'going forward there will be cause for celebration' (往有慶).
- What does hexagram 38 become when line 5 changes?
- Divergence becomes hexagram 10, 履 Stepping: Heaven above the lake: treading on the tiger's tail without being bitten. Correct conduct and courtesy carry one through danger; know your place and walk carefully.
- Is line 5 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).