Hexagram 4, line 3
六三Line 3 of Immaturity
Six in the third place · 蒙 méng
爻辭 The line text
勿用取女；見金夫，不有躬，无攸利。The third line, divided, (seems to say) that one should not marry a woman whose emblem it might be, for that, when she sees a man of wealth, she will not keep her person from him, and in no wise will advantage come from her.
勿用取女，行不順也。'A woman (such as is here represented) should not be taken in marriage:'—her conduct is not agreeable to what is right.
In plain words
'Do not take this woman: she sees a man of bronze and does not keep hold of herself; nothing is favourable.' Line three is yin in a yang place at the top of Kan, out of position and restless. It has a proper correspondent at the top line, but it is pressed up against the strong second line, and it abandons itself to the nearer attraction — the 'man of metal' who is rich or strong. The small Image is curt: its conduct is not compliant (行不順也). The tradition reads this as the student who, rather than learning, attaches to whoever has the most obvious power; Zhu Xi takes 不有躬 as losing one's own person, so the line is a warning against any alliance made by surrendering oneself.
If this line is changing
Do not bind yourself to someone or something only because it is strong and near; a connection that costs you your own judgement is worth nothing to either side.
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 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
蒙 Immaturity becomes ䷑ 18 蠱 Corruption
Wind below the mountain: stagnation that has bred corruption, like a bowl of worms. Great success for the one who steps in to repair what earlier generations spoiled.
What it becomes18 · 蠱 CorruptiongǔThe 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 in the third place of hexagram 4, Immaturity, mean?
- 'Do not take this woman: she sees a man of bronze and does not keep hold of herself; nothing is favourable.' Line three is yin in a yang place at the top of Kan, out of position and restless. It has a proper correspondent at the top line, but it is pressed up against the strong second line, and it abandons itself to the nearer attraction — the 'man of metal' who is rich or strong. The small Image is curt: its conduct is not compliant (行不順也). The tradition reads this as the student who, rather than learning, attaches to whoever has the most obvious power; Zhu Xi takes 不有躬 as losing one's own person, so the line is a warning against any alliance made by surrendering oneself.
- What does hexagram 4 become when line 3 changes?
- Immaturity becomes hexagram 18, 蠱 Corruption: Wind below the mountain: stagnation that has bred corruption, like a bowl of worms. Great success for the one who steps in to repair what earlier generations spoiled.
- Is line 3 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).