Hexagram 53, line 1
初六Line 1 of Gradual Advance
Six at the beginning · 漸 jiàn
爻辭 The line text
鴻漸于干，小子厲，有言，无咎。The first line, divided, shows the wild geese gradually approaching the shore. A young officer (in similar circumstances) will be in a position of danger, and be spoken against; but there will be no error.
小子之厲，義无咎也。'The danger of a small officer (as represented in the first line)' is owing to no fault of his in the matter of what is right.
In plain words
The wild goose comes gradually to the shore: the first landing, water's edge, the lowest and least secure of the six stations. Line one is yin in a yang place at the bottom, with no corresponding line above (four is also yin) — the 小子, the young one, with no backing yet, and so 'in danger, there is talk'. People criticise the one who has just arrived. But the text ends 無咎, and the small Image gives the ground: 義無咎也, in principle there is no fault — the danger comes from the position, not from any wrongdoing. The goose has simply landed where geese land first.
If this line is changing
You are at the first stage and the criticism you hear comes with the position, not from anything you have done; stay where you have landed and let time, not argument, answer it.
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 belongs to the lower trigram 艮 Gen (Keeping Still) (mountain).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 4: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
漸 Gradual Advance becomes ䷤ 37 家人 Household
Wind coming out of fire: the household. Favourable for steadfastness within the home; when the roles in a family are right, the wider world is set right.
What it becomes37 · 家人 Householdjiā rénThe six lines of 漸 Gradual Advance
- 初六Six at the beginningthe shore · the young one · talked about
- 六二Six in the second placethe rock · eating at ease · earned
- 九三Nine in the third placedry land · going and not returning · defend together
- 六四Six in the fourth placethe tree · a flat branch · yielding
- 九五Nine in the fifth placethe hill · three years · what is wished
- 上九Nine at the topthe heights · feathers for ceremony · unconfused
Read 漸 Gradual Advance for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six at the beginning of hexagram 53, Gradual Advance, mean?
- The wild goose comes gradually to the shore: the first landing, water's edge, the lowest and least secure of the six stations. Line one is yin in a yang place at the bottom, with no corresponding line above (four is also yin) — the 小子, the young one, with no backing yet, and so 'in danger, there is talk'. People criticise the one who has just arrived. But the text ends 無咎, and the small Image gives the ground: 義無咎也, in principle there is no fault — the danger comes from the position, not from any wrongdoing. The goose has simply landed where geese land first.
- What does hexagram 53 become when line 1 changes?
- Gradual Advance becomes hexagram 37, 家人 Household: Wind coming out of fire: the household. Favourable for steadfastness within the home; when the roles in a family are right, the wider world is set right.
- Is line 1 of Gradual Advance 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).