Hexagram 41, line 5
六五Line 5 of Diminishing
Six in the fifth place · 損 sǔn
爻辭 The line text
或益之，十朋之龜弗克違，元吉。The fifth line, divided, shows parties adding to (the stores of) its subject ten pairs of tortoise shells, and accepting no refusal. There will be great good fortune.
六五元吉，自上佑也。'The great good fortune attached to the fifth line, divided,' is due to the blessing from above.
In plain words
Line five is 'increased by someone' with ten pairs of tortoise shells, and cannot refuse — supremely fortunate (或益之，十朋之龜弗剋違，元吉). This is the ruler of the hexagram: a yin line in the central place of Gen, receiving what the lower trigram has given up. The tortoise shells are the oracle itself; even the spirits consent. Line two below is its correlate and gives without diminishing itself. The small Image says the good fortune comes as blessing from above (自上佑也): a humble, open centre draws help it did not seek. The same text appears in Yi, the next hexagram, at line two — the receiving line in each case.
If this line is changing
Accept what is being offered to you without false modesty; a position held with an empty, receptive heart is exactly what draws this kind of support.
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 艮 Gen (Keeping Still) (mountain).
- 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
損 Diminishing becomes ䷼ 61 中孚 Inner Sincerity
Wind over the lake: inner truth that moves even pigs and fishes. Good fortune, favourable to cross the great river — sincerity at the centre reaches what force cannot.
What it becomes61 · 中孚 Inner Sincerityzhōng fúThe six lines of 損 Diminishing
- 初九Nine at the beginningdrop your own business · hurry to help · measure the gift
- 九二Nine in the second placehold the centre · do not go · give without loss
- 六三Six in the third placethree become two · one finds a friend · doubt in a crowd
- 六四Six in the fourth placelessen the fault · accept help quickly · joy
- 六五Six in the fifth placegifts that cannot be refused · the oracle agrees · blessed from above
- 上九Nine at the topincrease without taking · beyond decrease · followers without a house
Read 損 Diminishing for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the fifth place of hexagram 41, Diminishing, mean?
- Line five is 'increased by someone' with ten pairs of tortoise shells, and cannot refuse — supremely fortunate (或益之，十朋之龜弗剋違，元吉). This is the ruler of the hexagram: a yin line in the central place of Gen, receiving what the lower trigram has given up. The tortoise shells are the oracle itself; even the spirits consent. Line two below is its correlate and gives without diminishing itself. The small Image says the good fortune comes as blessing from above (自上佑也): a humble, open centre draws help it did not seek. The same text appears in Yi, the next hexagram, at line two — the receiving line in each case.
- What does hexagram 41 become when line 5 changes?
- Diminishing becomes hexagram 61, 中孚 Inner Sincerity: Wind over the lake: inner truth that moves even pigs and fishes. Good fortune, favourable to cross the great river — sincerity at the centre reaches what force cannot.
- Is line 5 of Diminishing 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).