Hexagram 40, line 2
九二Line 2 of Release
Nine in the second place · 解 xiè
爻辭 The line text
田獲三狐，得黃矢，貞吉。The second line, undivided, shows its subject catch, in hunting, three foxes, and obtain the yellow (= golden) arrows. With firm correctness there will be good fortune.
九二貞吉，得中道也。'The good fortune springing from the firm correctness of the second line, undivided,' is due to its subject holding the due mean.
In plain words
In the hunt he takes three foxes and gains the yellow arrow; steadiness brings good fortune. Line two is yang in the centre of Kan, the one firm line in the lower trigram, and it corresponds to the yin ruler at five. The three foxes are, in Cheng Yi's reading, the three yin lines other than the ruler — the sly, petty influences that a time of release must clear away. The yellow arrow is the reward and the method: yellow is the colour of the centre, the arrow is straight. The small Image names it: 'he attains the central way' (得中道). What this line removes, it removes by being straight and moderate, not by force.
If this line is changing
Clear out the small, sly things that have been complicating the situation, and do it straightforwardly and from the middle; the reward for honest cleaning-up is the trust of the one above you.
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 坎 Kan (the Abysmal) (water).
- 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
解 Release becomes ䷏ 16 豫 Delight
Thunder bursting out of the earth: music, enthusiasm, movement in harmony with the time. Favourable to appoint helpers and set things in motion.
What it becomes16 · 豫 DelightyùThe six lines of 解 Release
- 初六Six at the beginningno fault · where hard meets soft · simply rest
- 九二Nine in the second placethree foxes · the yellow arrow · the straight middle way
- 六三Six in the third placea porter in a carriage · inviting robbers · self-inflicted
- 九四Nine in the fourth placerelease your toe · letting go of the unworthy · friends come
- 六五Six in the fifth placethe superior person unties · small people withdraw · trust shown
- 上六Six at the topshooting the hawk · the high wall · removing the last rebel
Read 解 Release for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the second place of hexagram 40, Release, mean?
- In the hunt he takes three foxes and gains the yellow arrow; steadiness brings good fortune. Line two is yang in the centre of Kan, the one firm line in the lower trigram, and it corresponds to the yin ruler at five. The three foxes are, in Cheng Yi's reading, the three yin lines other than the ruler — the sly, petty influences that a time of release must clear away. The yellow arrow is the reward and the method: yellow is the colour of the centre, the arrow is straight. The small Image names it: 'he attains the central way' (得中道). What this line removes, it removes by being straight and moderate, not by force.
- What does hexagram 40 become when line 2 changes?
- Release becomes hexagram 16, 豫 Delight: Thunder bursting out of the earth: music, enthusiasm, movement in harmony with the time. Favourable to appoint helpers and set things in motion.
- Is line 2 of Release 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).