Hexagram 4, line 1
初六Line 1 of Immaturity
Six at the beginning · 蒙 méng
爻辭 The line text
發蒙，利用刑人，用說桎梏，以往吝。The first line, divided, (has respect to) the dispelling of ignorance. It will be advantageous to use punishment (for that purpose), and to remove the shackles (from the mind). But going on in that way (of punishment) will give occasion for regret.
利用刑人，以正法也。'It will be advantageous to use punishment:'—the object being to bring under the influence of correcting law.
In plain words
'To dispel ignorance it is favourable to use discipline, to remove the shackles; to go on that way brings humiliation.' Line one is yin at the bottom of Kan, the dark water under the mountain: the most unformed state in the hexagram, the pupil before the first lesson. The text allows punishment at the start because a child learns the shape of a rule before its reason, but the second half limits it: the fetters are to be taken off, and if correction continues as the only method, the result is shame. The small Image reads 刑人 as 'to make the law correct' (以正法也) — discipline establishes a standard, it is not the teaching itself. Cheng Yi: strictness at the outset, so that leniency later has something to rest on.
If this line is changing
If you are starting to teach, lead or learn, set the rule firmly at the beginning and then loosen it; a boundary that never relaxes stops being instruction.
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 坎 Kan (the Abysmal) (water).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 4: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
蒙 Immaturity becomes ䷨ 41 損 Diminishing
The lake at the foot of the mountain giving up its moisture: decrease. Sincerity makes even decrease supremely fortunate — two bowls of simple food suffice for the offering.
What it becomes41 · 損 DiminishingsǔnThe six lines of 蒙 Immaturity
- 初六Six at the beginningdispelling ignorance · discipline · removing fetters
- 九二Nine in the second placeembracing the ignorant · taking a wife · the son runs the house
- 六三Six in the third placedo not take this woman · losing oneself · no benefit
- 六四Six in the fourth placetrapped in ignorance · isolated · far from substance
- 六五Six in the fifth placechildlike openness · good fortune · docile and humble
- 上九Nine at the topstriking ignorance · not as a robber · warding off robbers
Read 蒙 Immaturity for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six at the beginning of hexagram 4, Immaturity, mean?
- 'To dispel ignorance it is favourable to use discipline, to remove the shackles; to go on that way brings humiliation.' Line one is yin at the bottom of Kan, the dark water under the mountain: the most unformed state in the hexagram, the pupil before the first lesson. The text allows punishment at the start because a child learns the shape of a rule before its reason, but the second half limits it: the fetters are to be taken off, and if correction continues as the only method, the result is shame. The small Image reads 刑人 as 'to make the law correct' (以正法也) — discipline establishes a standard, it is not the teaching itself. Cheng Yi: strictness at the outset, so that leniency later has something to rest on.
- What does hexagram 4 become when line 1 changes?
- Immaturity becomes hexagram 41, 損 Diminishing: The lake at the foot of the mountain giving up its moisture: decrease. Sincerity makes even decrease supremely fortunate — two bowls of simple food suffice for the offering.
- Is line 1 of Immaturity 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).