Hexagram 50, line 3
九三Line 3 of Cauldron
Nine in the third place · 鼎 dǐng
爻辭 The line text
鼎耳革，其行塞，雉膏不食，方雨虧悔，終吉。The third line, undivided, shows the caldron with (the places of) its ears changed. The progress (of its subject) is (thus) stopped. The fat flesh of the pheasant (which is in the caldron) will not be eaten. But the (genial) rain will come, and the grounds for repentance will disappear. There will be good fortune in the end.
鼎耳革，失其義也。'There is the caldron with (the places for) its ears changed:'—(its subject) has failed in what was required of him (in his situation).
In plain words
The cauldron's ears, the lugs through which the carrying bar passes, have been altered: it cannot be lifted, 'its movement is blocked', and the rich pheasant inside goes uneaten. Line three is yang in a yang place at the top of Xun, strong and capable, but it does not correspond to the top line (also yang) and it is out of step with the yin ruler at five, the line that is the cauldron's ears. Its talent is cooked and ready and no one comes to carry it. The small Image says 失其義, it has lost its proper relation. Yet the text ends with rain, the meeting of yin and yang: regret wears away and the outcome is good in the end (終吉).
If this line is changing
Your ability is real but the channel that would carry it is closed for now; stay useful, do not force the handle, and wait for the rain that reopens the way.
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 has no correspondence (無應) with line 6: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
鼎 Cauldron becomes ䷿ 64 未濟 Not Yet Crossed
Fire over water, every line out of place: not yet across. Success is possible — but the little fox, nearly over, wets its tail; nothing is favourable yet. The Book ends with the crossing still ahead.
What it becomes64 · 未濟 Not Yet Crossedwèi jìThe six lines of 鼎 Cauldron
- 初六Six at the beginningoverturned · clearing out · humble beginnings
- 九二Nine in the second placesubstance within · envy at a distance · guard your steps
- 九三Nine in the third placehandles changed · blocked · rain at last
- 九四Nine in the fourth placebroken leg · spilled offering · beyond one's strength
- 六五Six in the fifth placeyellow ears · the centre · firmness
- 上九Nine at the topjade bar · tempered strength · great fortune
Read 鼎 Cauldron for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the third place of hexagram 50, Cauldron, mean?
- The cauldron's ears, the lugs through which the carrying bar passes, have been altered: it cannot be lifted, 'its movement is blocked', and the rich pheasant inside goes uneaten. Line three is yang in a yang place at the top of Xun, strong and capable, but it does not correspond to the top line (also yang) and it is out of step with the yin ruler at five, the line that is the cauldron's ears. Its talent is cooked and ready and no one comes to carry it. The small Image says 失其義, it has lost its proper relation. Yet the text ends with rain, the meeting of yin and yang: regret wears away and the outcome is good in the end (終吉).
- What does hexagram 50 become when line 3 changes?
- Cauldron becomes hexagram 64, 未濟 Not Yet Crossed: Fire over water, every line out of place: not yet across. Success is possible — but the little fox, nearly over, wets its tail; nothing is favourable yet. The Book ends with the crossing still ahead.
- Is line 3 of Cauldron 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).