Hexagram 51, line 5
六五Line 5 of Shock (Thunder)
Six in the fifth place · 震 zhèn
爻辭 The line text
震往來厲，億无喪，有事。The fifth line, divided, shows its subject going and coming amidst the startling movements (of the time), and always in peril; but perhaps he will not incur loss, and find business (which he can accomplish).
震往來厲，危行也。其事在中，大无喪也。'He goes and comes amid the startling movements, and (always) in peril:'—full of risk are his doings. 'What he has to do has to be done in his central position:'—far will he be from incurring any loss.
In plain words
'The shock goes and comes, danger; a hundred thousand — nothing lost; there are things to do.' Line five is yin in the central place of the upper trigram, the ruler's seat, caught between the shock below (line four) and the shock above: thunder on both sides. The small Image acknowledges the risk — 危行也, its going is perilous — and then gives the reason it comes through: 其事在中, its business is in the centre, so 大無喪, nothing great is lost. Where line two had to drop its cowries, line five keeps its holdings by staying central and attending to its duties. 有事 is read by commentators as the affairs of the ancestral temple that the judgment mentions: the ruler who does not drop the ladle.
If this line is changing
The shocks are coming from more than one direction; do not try to escape them, keep to the centre and keep doing the things that are yours to do, and the losses stay small.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin 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 is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the upper trigram 震 Zhen (the Arousing) (thunder).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 2: 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 ䷐ 17 隨 Following Along
Thunder resting in the lake: following the time, taking rest in the evening. Supreme success in following what is right — and in being worth following.
What it becomes17 · 隨 Following AlongsuíThe 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 fifth place of hexagram 51, Shock (Thunder), mean?
- 'The shock goes and comes, danger; a hundred thousand — nothing lost; there are things to do.' Line five is yin in the central place of the upper trigram, the ruler's seat, caught between the shock below (line four) and the shock above: thunder on both sides. The small Image acknowledges the risk — 危行也, its going is perilous — and then gives the reason it comes through: 其事在中, its business is in the centre, so 大無喪, nothing great is lost. Where line two had to drop its cowries, line five keeps its holdings by staying central and attending to its duties. 有事 is read by commentators as the affairs of the ancestral temple that the judgment mentions: the ruler who does not drop the ladle.
- What does hexagram 51 become when line 5 changes?
- Shock (Thunder) becomes hexagram 17, 隨 Following Along: Thunder resting in the lake: following the time, taking rest in the evening. Supreme success in following what is right — and in being worth following.
- Is line 5 of Shock (Thunder) 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. 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).