Hexagram 48, line 3
九三Line 3 of Well
Nine in the third place · 井 jǐng
爻辭 The line text
井渫不食，為我心惻，可用汲，王明，並受其福。The third line, undivided, shows a well, which has been cleared out, but is not used. Our hearts are sorry for this, for the water might be drawn out and used. If the king were (only) intelligent, both he and we might receive the benefit of it.
井渫不食，行惻也。求王明，受福也。'The well has been cleared out, but is not used:'—(even) passers-by would be sorry for this. A prayer is made 'that the king were intelligent:'—for then blessing would be received.
In plain words
Line three: 'the well is cleared but no one drinks; it grieves my heart; it could be drawn; if the king were clear-sighted, all would share the blessing' (井渫不食，為我心惻，可用汲，王明，並受其福). Yang in a yang place at the top of Xun, this is the well made clean by effort — the ability is ready — yet still unused, and the text lets the sorrow show. It corresponds to the yin line at the top, the open mouth of the well, so the path to use exists; what is missing is a ruler with the sight to call for the water. The small Image says passers-by feel the grief (行惻也) and that the prayer for a clear-sighted king is a prayer for shared blessing (受福也). Confucius is recorded as weeping over this line.
If this line is changing
You have done the work and you are ready, and the fact that no one is drawing on you is not a judgement on the water; keep the well clean, let the sorrow be honest, and look for the one with eyes to see it.
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
井 Well becomes ䷜ 29 坎 The Pit (Water)
Water upon water: repeated danger. With sincerity the heart gets through — flow like water, filling each hollow and moving on without losing your nature.
What it becomes29 · 坎 The Pit (Water)kǎnThe six lines of 井 Well
- 初六Six at the beginningmuddy well · no one drinks · abandoned by time
- 九二Nine in the second placewater leaking to the minnows · a cracked jar · no one above to help
- 九三Nine in the third placecleared but not drunk · a grief · if the king were clear-sighted
- 六四Six in the fourth placelining the well · repair · no blame
- 九五Nine in the fifth placeclear well · cold spring · freely drunk
- 上六Six at the topdrawn to the top · do not cover it · sincerity, great fortune
Read 井 Well for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the third place of hexagram 48, Well, mean?
- Line three: 'the well is cleared but no one drinks; it grieves my heart; it could be drawn; if the king were clear-sighted, all would share the blessing' (井渫不食，為我心惻，可用汲，王明，並受其福). Yang in a yang place at the top of Xun, this is the well made clean by effort — the ability is ready — yet still unused, and the text lets the sorrow show. It corresponds to the yin line at the top, the open mouth of the well, so the path to use exists; what is missing is a ruler with the sight to call for the water. The small Image says passers-by feel the grief (行惻也) and that the prayer for a clear-sighted king is a prayer for shared blessing (受福也). Confucius is recorded as weeping over this line.
- What does hexagram 48 become when line 3 changes?
- Well becomes hexagram 29, 坎 The Pit (Water): Water upon water: repeated danger. With sincerity the heart gets through — flow like water, filling each hollow and moving on without losing your nature.
- Is line 3 of Well 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).