Hexagram 43, line 3
九三Line 3 of Decisiveness
Nine in the third place · 夬 guài
爻辭 The line text
壯于頄，有凶。君子夬夬，獨行，遇雨，若濡，有慍，无咎。The third line, undivided, shows its subject (about to advance) with strong (and determined) looks. There will be evil. (But) the superior man, bent on cutting off (the criminal), will walk alone and encounter the rain, (till he be hated by his proper associates) as if he were contaminated (by the others). (In the end) there will be no blame against him.
君子夬夬，終无咎也。'The superior man looks bent on cutting off the culprit:'—there will in the end be no error.
In plain words
Line three shows 'strength in the cheekbones — misfortune'; yet 'the superior person, resolute, walks alone, meets rain, is soaked and resented, but without blame' (君子夬夬，獨行，遇雨，若濡，有慍，無咎). It is the top of Qian, yang in a yang place, and the only strong line that corresponds to the yin at the top (應上六). That bond puts it in a hard place: showing hostility openly on its face brings harm, but keeping company with the top line makes the other four suspect it. The way through is to be resolute inwardly, bear the appearance of contamination, and let the end vindicate it — 'in the end no blame' (終無咎也), says the small Image.
If this line is changing
If you are the one with a tie to what must be removed, do not show your hand in your face; be inwardly decided, accept being misread for a while, and let the outcome clear 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 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 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
夬 Decisiveness becomes ䷹ 58 兌 Pleasure (Lake)
Lake upon lake: joy. Success through correctness — inner firmness, outer gentleness; friends discussing and practising together, a joy that makes people forget their toil.
What it becomes58 · 兌 Pleasure (Lake)duìThe 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 in the third place of hexagram 43, Decisiveness, mean?
- Line three shows 'strength in the cheekbones — misfortune'; yet 'the superior person, resolute, walks alone, meets rain, is soaked and resented, but without blame' (君子夬夬，獨行，遇雨，若濡，有慍，無咎). It is the top of Qian, yang in a yang place, and the only strong line that corresponds to the yin at the top (應上六). That bond puts it in a hard place: showing hostility openly on its face brings harm, but keeping company with the top line makes the other four suspect it. The way through is to be resolute inwardly, bear the appearance of contamination, and let the end vindicate it — 'in the end no blame' (終無咎也), says the small Image.
- What does hexagram 43 become when line 3 changes?
- Decisiveness becomes hexagram 58, 兌 Pleasure (Lake): Lake upon lake: joy. Success through correctness — inner firmness, outer gentleness; friends discussing and practising together, a joy that makes people forget their toil.
- Is line 3 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).