Hexagram 46, line 3
九三Line 3 of Ascending
Nine in the third place · 升 shēng
爻辭 The line text
升虛邑。The third line, undivided, shows its subject ascending upwards (as into) an empty city.
升虛邑，无所疑也。'He advances upwards (as into) an empty city:'—he has no doubt or hesitation.
In plain words
Line three 'ascends into an empty city' (升虛邑). Yang in a yang place at the top of Xun, this is the strong line about to enter the upper trigram — and the upper trigram is Kun, three yin lines, open earth with nothing in it to resist. Walking into a city whose gates stand open and whose streets are empty: the way up is clear. The small Image says there is nothing to doubt (無所疑也). Yet the text gives no verdict, neither fortune nor blame, and commentators note why: an unopposed advance tests the one who makes it. The emptiness that makes the rise easy also means no one is checking it.
If this line is changing
The way ahead is open and no one will stop you, so go — but remember that an advance nobody resists is also an advance nobody checks, and keep your own measure.
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 巽 Xun (the Gentle) (wind).
- 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
升 Ascending becomes ䷆ 7 師 Troops
Water held within the earth: an army, a disciplined multitude. Success needs a seasoned, upright leader and strict order; force is justified only for a right cause.
What it becomes7 · 師 TroopsshīThe six lines of 升 Ascending
- 初六Six at the beginningwelcomed ascent · trusted rise · same mind above
- 九二Nine in the second placesincerity · the small offering · joy
- 九三Nine in the third placethe empty city · unopposed · no hesitation
- 六四Six in the fourth placeoffering on Mount Qi · service that fits · the king's trust
- 六五Six in the fifth placeascending the steps · steadiness · great success
- 上六Six at the topclimbing in the dark · ceaseless steadiness · wealth that wanes
Read 升 Ascending for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the third place of hexagram 46, Ascending, mean?
- Line three 'ascends into an empty city' (升虛邑). Yang in a yang place at the top of Xun, this is the strong line about to enter the upper trigram — and the upper trigram is Kun, three yin lines, open earth with nothing in it to resist. Walking into a city whose gates stand open and whose streets are empty: the way up is clear. The small Image says there is nothing to doubt (無所疑也). Yet the text gives no verdict, neither fortune nor blame, and commentators note why: an unopposed advance tests the one who makes it. The emptiness that makes the rise easy also means no one is checking it.
- What does hexagram 46 become when line 3 changes?
- Ascending becomes hexagram 7, 師 Troops: Water held within the earth: an army, a disciplined multitude. Success needs a seasoned, upright leader and strict order; force is justified only for a right cause.
- Is line 3 of Ascending 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).