Hexagram 45, line 4
九四Line 4 of Assembly
Nine in the fourth place · 萃 cuì
爻辭 The line text
大吉，无咎。The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject in such a state that, if he be greatly fortunate, he will receive no blame.
大吉无咎，位不當也。'If he be grandly fortunate, he will receive no blame:'—(this condition is necessary, because) his position is not the one proper to him.
In plain words
Line four says only 'great fortune, no blame' (大吉，無咎) — and the small Image explains the terseness: its position is not correct (位不當也). Yang in a yin place, it is the strong minister directly beneath the ruler, and all three yin lines of Kun below are gathering toward it. That is a dangerous honour: people assembling around a subordinate rather than the sovereign. Only an outcome that is greatly good — meaning the gathering is turned over to the ruler's purpose — will clear it of suspicion. Cheng Yi reads it as the test of a powerful official: the following is real, and so is the duty to hand it upward.
If this line is changing
People are gathering around you rather than around the one in charge; this is only safe if you visibly put that following at the service of the larger purpose, so do that before anyone has to ask.
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 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- It corresponds (應) with line 1: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
萃 Assembly becomes ䷇ 8 比 Alliance
Water on the earth, flowing together: alliance and mutual support. Favourable to unite around a worthy centre; latecomers who hesitate lose their chance.
What it becomes8 · 比 AlliancebǐThe six lines of 萃 Assembly
- 初六Six at the beginningsincerity that falters · confusion in the crowd · cry and it turns to laughter
- 六二Six in the second placedrawn forward · unchanged centre · small offering accepted
- 六三Six in the third placesighing to gather · nowhere to belong · small regret
- 九四Nine in the fourth placegreat fortune required · wrong place · gathering below the ruler
- 九五Nine in the fifth placegathering in office · not yet trusted · lasting steadiness
- 上六Six at the topsighs and tears · no rest at the top · left out of the gathering
Read 萃 Assembly for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the fourth place of hexagram 45, Assembly, mean?
- Line four says only 'great fortune, no blame' (大吉，無咎) — and the small Image explains the terseness: its position is not correct (位不當也). Yang in a yin place, it is the strong minister directly beneath the ruler, and all three yin lines of Kun below are gathering toward it. That is a dangerous honour: people assembling around a subordinate rather than the sovereign. Only an outcome that is greatly good — meaning the gathering is turned over to the ruler's purpose — will clear it of suspicion. Cheng Yi reads it as the test of a powerful official: the following is real, and so is the duty to hand it upward.
- What does hexagram 45 become when line 4 changes?
- Assembly becomes hexagram 8, 比 Alliance: Water on the earth, flowing together: alliance and mutual support. Favourable to unite around a worthy centre; latecomers who hesitate lose their chance.
- Is line 4 of Assembly 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).