Hexagram 41, line 6
上九Line 6 of Diminishing
Nine at the top · 損 sǔn
爻辭 The line text
弗損益之，无咎，貞吉，利有攸往，得臣无家。The topmost line, undivided, shows its subject giving increase to others without taking from himself. There will be no error. With firm correctness there will be good fortune. There will be advantage in every movement that shall be made. He will find ministers more than can be counted by their clans.
弗損益之，大得志也。'He gives increase to others without taking from what is his own:'—he obtains his wish on a grand scale.
In plain words
At the top, Sun turns over: 'not diminishing but increasing, no blame; steadiness brings good fortune; favourable to go somewhere; he gains ministers beyond any one house' (弗損益之……得臣無家). This yang line is the one that climbed up from Tai's lower trigram, so it holds what was given; now, at the end of decrease, it passes benefit downward without taking from anyone. Yang in a yin place at the top of Gen, it has nowhere higher to go, and the small Image says it 'greatly obtains its aim' (大得志也). The one who received the sacrifice of others and gives it back wins followers from every quarter, not just its own clan.
If this line is changing
You have received enough; the way forward now is to benefit others at no one's expense, and the loyalty that follows will come from far beyond your own circle.
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 belongs to the upper trigram 艮 Gen (Keeping Still) (mountain).
- It corresponds (應) with line 3: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
損 Diminishing becomes ䷒ 19 臨 Overseeing
Earth over the lake: looking down from the shore. Yang grows and influence approaches — supreme success now, with a warning that the eighth month brings a turn.
What it becomes19 · 臨 OverseeinglínThe 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 Nine at the top of hexagram 41, Diminishing, mean?
- At the top, Sun turns over: 'not diminishing but increasing, no blame; steadiness brings good fortune; favourable to go somewhere; he gains ministers beyond any one house' (弗損益之……得臣無家). This yang line is the one that climbed up from Tai's lower trigram, so it holds what was given; now, at the end of decrease, it passes benefit downward without taking from anyone. Yang in a yin place at the top of Gen, it has nowhere higher to go, and the small Image says it 'greatly obtains its aim' (大得志也). The one who received the sacrifice of others and gives it back wins followers from every quarter, not just its own clan.
- What does hexagram 41 become when line 6 changes?
- Diminishing becomes hexagram 19, 臨 Overseeing: Earth over the lake: looking down from the shore. Yang grows and influence approaches — supreme success now, with a warning that the eighth month brings a turn.
- Is line 6 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.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).