Hexagram 44, line 5
九五Line 5 of Encounter
Nine in the fifth place · 姤 gòu
爻辭 The line text
以杞包瓜，含章，有隕自天。The fifth line, undivided, (shows its subject as) a medlar tree overspreading the gourd (beneath it). If he keep his brilliant qualities concealed, (a good issue) will descend (as) from Heaven.
九五含章，中正也。有隕自天，志不舍命也。'The subject of the fifth line, undivided, keeps his brilliant qualities concealed:'—as is indicated by his central and correct position. '(The good issue) descends (as) from Heaven:'—his aim does not neglect the ordinances (of Heaven).
In plain words
The ruler of Gou: 'a willow wrapping a gourd; brilliance held within; something falls from heaven' (以杞包瓜，含章，有隕自天). The tall willow (杞) spreads over the low, creeping gourd — the strong central ruler at five shelters and contains the yin that is growing at the bottom, without crushing it and without touching it directly. Yang in the central, correct place of Qian, it does not need to act visibly: the small Image says its hidden brilliance is its central correctness (中正也), and what descends from heaven comes because its will does not abandon the mandate (志不捨命也). Zhu Xi reads it as the ruler who lets the good outcome arrive instead of forcing it.
If this line is changing
Keep your qualities inside and give shelter from above rather than intervening by hand; hold to what you are committed to, and the resolution will arrive as if dropped from the sky.
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 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 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 2: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
姤 Encounter becomes ䷱ 50 鼎 Cauldron
Fire over wood: the cauldron that cooks the offering. Supreme success — the vessel that turns raw into cooked, nourishing the wise and settling the new order after a revolution.
What it becomes50 · 鼎 CauldrondǐngThe six lines of 姤 Encounter
- 初六Six at the beginningmetal brake · the first yin · the lean pig
- 九二Nine in the second placefish in the wrapper · containment · not for the guests
- 九三Nine in the third placeno skin on the buttocks · halting · not yet drawn in
- 九四Nine in the fourth placeno fish in the wrapper · lost the people · trouble arises
- 九五Nine in the fifth placewillow sheltering the gourd · hidden brilliance · falls from heaven
- 上九Nine at the topmeeting with the horns · exhausted at the top · regret but no blame
Read 姤 Encounter for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the fifth place of hexagram 44, Encounter, mean?
- The ruler of Gou: 'a willow wrapping a gourd; brilliance held within; something falls from heaven' (以杞包瓜，含章，有隕自天). The tall willow (杞) spreads over the low, creeping gourd — the strong central ruler at five shelters and contains the yin that is growing at the bottom, without crushing it and without touching it directly. Yang in the central, correct place of Qian, it does not need to act visibly: the small Image says its hidden brilliance is its central correctness (中正也), and what descends from heaven comes because its will does not abandon the mandate (志不捨命也). Zhu Xi reads it as the ruler who lets the good outcome arrive instead of forcing it.
- What does hexagram 44 become when line 5 changes?
- Encounter becomes hexagram 50, 鼎 Cauldron: Fire over wood: the cauldron that cooks the offering. Supreme success — the vessel that turns raw into cooked, nourishing the wise and settling the new order after a revolution.
- Is line 5 of Encounter 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. 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).