Hexagram 51, line 2
六二Line 2 of Shock (Thunder)
Six in the second place · 震 zhèn
爻辭 The line text
震來厲，億喪貝，躋于九陵，勿逐，七日得。The second line, divided, shows its subject, when the movement approaches, in a position of peril. He judges it better to let go the articles (in his possession), and to ascend a very lofty height. There is no occasion for him to pursue after (the things he has let go); in seven days he will find them.
震來厲，乘剛也。'When the movement approaches, he is in a position of peril:'—(a weak line) is mounted on a strong (one).
In plain words
'The shock comes with danger; a hundred thousand in cowries lost; climb the nine hills; do not chase, in seven days you get it back.' Line two is yin, central and correct, but it rides directly on the strong line one, the source of the shock — the small Image gives only that reason: 乘剛也. When thunder is right underneath you, the text says let your possessions go and climb high; there is no fighting the first clap. 勿逐, do not run after what the shock has scattered. Seven days is the cycle of the lines coming round: what is lost in a moment returns when the moment has passed. Cheng Yi reads 億 as a great quantity; whatever it is, the line says it is recoverable.
If this line is changing
When the shock hits, drop what you are holding and get to higher ground rather than scrambling to save it; what is yours will come back on its own once the moment passes.
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 is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 震 Zhen (the Arousing) (thunder).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 5: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
震 Shock (Thunder) becomes ䷵ 54 歸妹 Marrying the Younger Sister
Thunder over the lake: the younger sister married as a secondary wife. Undertakings bring misfortune; nothing is favourable — a relationship or position entered on unequal terms must be managed with great care.
What it becomes54 · 歸妹 Marrying the Younger Sisterguī mèiThe six lines of 震 Shock (Thunder)
- 初九Nine at the beginningfirst shock · fear then laughter · rules found
- 六二Six in the second placedanger · let it go · seven days
- 六三Six in the third placeunnerved · wrong place · move anyway
- 九四Nine in the fourth placestuck in mud · momentum lost · light not yet shining
- 六五Six in the fifth placegoing and coming · danger in the centre · nothing lost
- 上六Six at the toptrembling · neighbour's warning · hold back
Read 震 Shock (Thunder) for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the second place of hexagram 51, Shock (Thunder), mean?
- 'The shock comes with danger; a hundred thousand in cowries lost; climb the nine hills; do not chase, in seven days you get it back.' Line two is yin, central and correct, but it rides directly on the strong line one, the source of the shock — the small Image gives only that reason: 乘剛也. When thunder is right underneath you, the text says let your possessions go and climb high; there is no fighting the first clap. 勿逐, do not run after what the shock has scattered. Seven days is the cycle of the lines coming round: what is lost in a moment returns when the moment has passed. Cheng Yi reads 億 as a great quantity; whatever it is, the line says it is recoverable.
- What does hexagram 51 become when line 2 changes?
- Shock (Thunder) becomes hexagram 54, 歸妹 Marrying the Younger Sister: Thunder over the lake: the younger sister married as a secondary wife. Undertakings bring misfortune; nothing is favourable — a relationship or position entered on unequal terms must be managed with great care.
- Is line 2 of Shock (Thunder) 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. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).