Hexagram 43, line 1
初九Line 1 of Decisiveness
Nine at the beginning · 夬 guài
爻辭 The line text
壯于前趾，往不勝為咎。The first line, undivided, shows its subject in (the pride of) strength advancing with his toes. He goes forward, but will not succeed. There will be ground for blame.
不勝而往，咎也。'Without (being able to) succeed, he goes forward:'—this is an error.
In plain words
'Strength in the front toes; going forward without prevailing is a fault' (壯於前趾，往不勝為咎). The first line of Guai is yang at the bottom of Qian, the lowest of five strong lines all pressing upward against the single yin at the top. Its strength is real but it is in the toes — the part that moves first and carries nothing. Compare the first line of Da Zhuang, 'strength in the toes', which also ends badly. The small Image does not soften it: to go forward when one cannot win is a fault (不勝而往，咎也). The decision the hexagram calls for belongs to the lines above; this one has only eagerness.
If this line is changing
Do not make the first move against what you mean to remove; eagerness at the bottom is not the same as the position to win, and going forward now would only be a fault.
Where the line stands
- A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang line that moves when cast.
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 4: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
夬 Decisiveness becomes ䷛ 28 大過 Great Excess
The lake drowning the trees: the ridgepole bends under too much weight. An extraordinary situation, strong in the middle and weak at the ends — something must give way or be done.
What it becomes28 · 大過 Great Excessdà guòThe six lines of 夬 Decisiveness
- 初九Nine at the beginningstrength in the toes · advancing too soon · cannot prevail
- 九二Nine in the second placealarm cry · armed at night · no anxiety
- 九三Nine in the third placestrength in the face · walking alone · soaked but blameless
- 九四Nine in the fourth placeno skin on the buttocks · halting · hears but does not believe
- 九五Nine in the fifth placepurslane · resolute at the centre · not yet bright
- 上六Six at the topno one to call · the last yin · cannot last
Read 夬 Decisiveness for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine at the beginning of hexagram 43, Decisiveness, mean?
- 'Strength in the front toes; going forward without prevailing is a fault' (壯於前趾，往不勝為咎). The first line of Guai is yang at the bottom of Qian, the lowest of five strong lines all pressing upward against the single yin at the top. Its strength is real but it is in the toes — the part that moves first and carries nothing. Compare the first line of Da Zhuang, 'strength in the toes', which also ends badly. The small Image does not soften it: to go forward when one cannot win is a fault (不勝而往，咎也). The decision the hexagram calls for belongs to the lines above; this one has only eagerness.
- What does hexagram 43 become when line 1 changes?
- Decisiveness becomes hexagram 28, 大過 Great Excess: The lake drowning the trees: the ridgepole bends under too much weight. An extraordinary situation, strong in the middle and weak at the ends — something must give way or be done.
- Is line 1 of Decisiveness in its correct place?
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).