Hexagram 48, line 4
六四Line 4 of Well
Six in the fourth place · 井 jǐng
爻辭 The line text
井甃，无咎。The fourth line, divided, shows a well, the lining of which is well laid. There will be no error.
井甃无咎，修井也。'A well the lining of which is well laid. There will be no error:'—the well has been put in good repair.
In plain words
Line four is 'the well lined with brick — no blame' (井甃，無咎). Yin in a yin place, correct, the first line of Kan and directly beneath the ruler, this is the stage of repair: the walls are being faced with stone so that the water stays clean and the shaft does not collapse. Nothing is drawn yet, and the verdict is only 'no blame'. The small Image says simply: the well is being put in order (修井也). In the received reading this is the official who, lacking the ruler's breadth, does the quieter work of maintaining what makes the ruler's generosity possible — self-cultivation in a subordinate place.
If this line is changing
This is a time for maintenance rather than output; shore up the structure that holds what you offer, and do not expect credit yet for work that only prevents a collapse.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin 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 upper trigram 坎 Kan (the Abysmal) (water).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 1: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
井 Well becomes ䷛ 28 大過 Great Excess
The lake drowning the trees: the ridgepole bends under too much weight. An extraordinary situation, strong in the middle and weak at the ends — something must give way or be done.
What it becomes28 · 大過 Great Excessdà guòThe 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 Six in the fourth place of hexagram 48, Well, mean?
- Line four is 'the well lined with brick — no blame' (井甃，無咎). Yin in a yin place, correct, the first line of Kan and directly beneath the ruler, this is the stage of repair: the walls are being faced with stone so that the water stays clean and the shaft does not collapse. Nothing is drawn yet, and the verdict is only 'no blame'. The small Image says simply: the well is being put in order (修井也). In the received reading this is the official who, lacking the ruler's breadth, does the quieter work of maintaining what makes the ruler's generosity possible — self-cultivation in a subordinate place.
- What does hexagram 48 become when line 4 changes?
- Well becomes hexagram 28, 大過 Great Excess: The lake drowning the trees: the ridgepole bends under too much weight. An extraordinary situation, strong in the middle and weak at the ends — something must give way or be done.
- Is line 4 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).