Hexagram 42, line 3
六三Line 3 of Augmenting
Six in the third place · 益 yì
爻辭 The line text
益之用凶事，无咎。有孚中行，告公用圭。The third line, divided, shows increase given to its subject by means of what is evil, so that he shall (be led to good), and be without blame. Let him be sincere and pursue the path of the Mean, (so shall he secure the recognition of the ruler, like) an officer who announces himself to his prince by the symbol of his rank.
益用凶事，固有之也。'Increase is given by means of what is evil and difficult:'—as he has in himself (the qualities called forth).
In plain words
Line three is 'increased by means of unfortunate matters, no blame; sincere and walking the middle way, he reports to the prince with the jade tablet' (益之用凶事，無咎……告公用圭). Yin in a yang place at the top of Zhen, this line is out of place and restless, and its increase comes not as a gift but as a hard task — the kind of crisis that gives someone of low standing a chance to prove themselves. The small Image says the capacity was already there (固有之也). The jade tablet is the emblem of office: handled sincerely, a difficult assignment becomes the credential that gains a hearing above.
If this line is changing
The benefit on offer comes disguised as trouble; take the hard assignment, keep to the sincere middle, and let the way you handle it speak for you upward.
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 震 Zhen (the Arousing) (thunder).
- 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
益 Augmenting becomes ䷤ 37 家人 Household
Wind coming out of fire: the household. Favourable for steadfastness within the home; when the roles in a family are right, the wider world is set right.
What it becomes37 · 家人 Householdjiā rénThe six lines of 益 Augmenting
- 初九Nine at the beginninggreat undertaking · a low position · only great success clears it
- 六二Six in the second placegifts from outside · lasting steadiness · offering to heaven
- 六三Six in the third placeincrease through hardship · sincere middle course · report with the jade
- 六四Six in the fourth placethe middle course · advice followed · moving the capital
- 九五Nine in the fifth placesincere kindness · no need to ask · goodness acknowledged
- 上九Nine at the topno one adds · someone strikes · an unsteady heart
Read 益 Augmenting for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the third place of hexagram 42, Augmenting, mean?
- Line three is 'increased by means of unfortunate matters, no blame; sincere and walking the middle way, he reports to the prince with the jade tablet' (益之用凶事，無咎……告公用圭). Yin in a yang place at the top of Zhen, this line is out of place and restless, and its increase comes not as a gift but as a hard task — the kind of crisis that gives someone of low standing a chance to prove themselves. The small Image says the capacity was already there (固有之也). The jade tablet is the emblem of office: handled sincerely, a difficult assignment becomes the credential that gains a hearing above.
- What does hexagram 42 become when line 3 changes?
- Augmenting becomes hexagram 37, 家人 Household: Wind coming out of fire: the household. Favourable for steadfastness within the home; when the roles in a family are right, the wider world is set right.
- Is line 3 of Augmenting 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).