Hexagram 49, line 6
上六Line 6 of Reform
Six at the top · 革 gé
爻辭 The line text
君子豹變，小人革面，征凶，居貞吉。The sixth line, divided, shows the superior man producing his changes as the leopard (does when he) changes (his spots), while small men change their faces (and show their obedience). To go forward (now) would lead to evil, but there will be good fortune in abiding firm and correct.
君子豹變，其文蔚也。小人革面，順以從君也。'The superior man produces his changes as the leopard does when he changes his spots:'—their beauty becomes more elegant. 'Small men change their faces:'—they show themselves prepared to follow their ruler.
In plain words
At the top of Revolution the great work is done: 'the superior person changes like a leopard, the small people change their faces.' The leopard's spots are finer than the tiger's stripes — the small Image calls them 蔚, elegant rather than brilliant — because this is the refinement that follows the main change, not the change itself. The lesser people 革面, alter their outward demeanour and comply, 順以從君; the Image does not pretend their hearts have changed. So the text warns: 'to go forward is ominous; to stay and hold firm is auspicious.' Line six is yin at the end of Dui; pushing revolution further here would be revolution for its own sake.
If this line is changing
The change has gone as far as it should; refine what is in place and accept outward compliance from those who will never be converts, rather than starting another round.
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 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- It corresponds (應) with line 3: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
革 Reform becomes ䷌ 13 同人 People United
Fire rising to heaven: people gathering in the open field. Fellowship succeeds when it is public and principled rather than clannish, and it makes great undertakings possible.
What it becomes13 · 同人 People Unitedtóng rénThe 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 Six at the top of hexagram 49, Reform, mean?
- At the top of Revolution the great work is done: 'the superior person changes like a leopard, the small people change their faces.' The leopard's spots are finer than the tiger's stripes — the small Image calls them 蔚, elegant rather than brilliant — because this is the refinement that follows the main change, not the change itself. The lesser people 革面, alter their outward demeanour and comply, 順以從君; the Image does not pretend their hearts have changed. So the text warns: 'to go forward is ominous; to stay and hold firm is auspicious.' Line six is yin at the end of Dui; pushing revolution further here would be revolution for its own sake.
- What does hexagram 49 become when line 6 changes?
- Reform becomes hexagram 13, 同人 People United: Fire rising to heaven: people gathering in the open field. Fellowship succeeds when it is public and principled rather than clannish, and it makes great undertakings possible.
- Is line 6 of Reform 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).