Hexagram 49, line 4
九四Line 4 of Reform
Nine in the fourth place · 革 gé
爻辭 The line text
悔亡，有孚改命，吉。The fourth line, undivided, shows occasion for repentance disappearing (from its subject). Let him be believed in; and though he change (existing) ordinances, there will be good fortune.
改命之吉，信志也。'The good fortune consequent on changing (existing) ordinances' is due to the faith reposed in his aims.
In plain words
'Regret disappears; with trust, change the mandate; auspicious.' Line four crosses from fire into lake, from the lower trigram to the upper, and this crossing is the revolution itself — the old order is replaced here. The line is yang in a yin place, so it is not formally correct, which is why the text begins with regret; but the regret vanishes because the change is trusted. 改命 is the phrase used for Tang and Wu overturning a dynasty, and the small Image gives the reason it succeeds: 信志, people believe in the intention. Zhu Xi notes that the line lies just below the ruler and has the ruler's confidence, so what would be presumption elsewhere is here a commission.
If this line is changing
This is the moment to carry the change through, and it will hold if the people affected believe in why you are doing it; make the intention plain before the action.
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 has no correspondence (無應) with line 1: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
革 Reform becomes ䷾ 63 既濟 Already Crossed
Water over fire, every line in its proper place: completion. Success in small matters; favourable to persevere — good at the start, disorder at the end if you relax.
What it becomes63 · 既濟 Already Crossedjì jìThe six lines of 革 Reform
- 初九Nine at the beginningbound fast · not yet · hold firm
- 六二Six in the second placethe ripe day · timing · go forward
- 九三Nine in the third placethree times over · haste · earn belief
- 九四Nine in the fourth placechange the mandate · trust · regret gone
- 九五Nine in the fifth placetiger's stripes · visible change · trusted before asking
- 上六Six at the topleopard's spots · changed faces · stop and hold
Read 革 Reform for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the fourth place of hexagram 49, Reform, mean?
- 'Regret disappears; with trust, change the mandate; auspicious.' Line four crosses from fire into lake, from the lower trigram to the upper, and this crossing is the revolution itself — the old order is replaced here. The line is yang in a yin place, so it is not formally correct, which is why the text begins with regret; but the regret vanishes because the change is trusted. 改命 is the phrase used for Tang and Wu overturning a dynasty, and the small Image gives the reason it succeeds: 信志, people believe in the intention. Zhu Xi notes that the line lies just below the ruler and has the ruler's confidence, so what would be presumption elsewhere is here a commission.
- What does hexagram 49 become when line 4 changes?
- Reform becomes hexagram 63, 既濟 Already Crossed: Water over fire, every line in its proper place: completion. Success in small matters; favourable to persevere — good at the start, disorder at the end if you relax.
- Is line 4 of Reform 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).