Hexagram 53, line 3
九三Line 3 of Gradual Advance
Nine in the third place · 漸 jiàn
爻辭 The line text
鴻漸于陸，夫征不復，婦孕不育，凶；利禦寇。The third line, undivided, shows them gradually advanced to the dry plains. (It suggests also the idea of) a husband who goes on an expedition from which he does not return, and of a wife who is pregnant, but will not nourish her child. There will be evil. (The case symbolised) might be advantageous in resisting plunderers.
夫征不復，離群醜也。婦孕不育，失其道也。利用御寇，順相保也。'A husband goes and does not return:'—he separates himself from his comrades. 'A wife is pregnant, but will not nourish her child:'—she has failed in her (proper) course. 'It might be advantageous in resisting plunderers:'—by acting as here indicated men would preserve one another.
In plain words
The goose comes to the high plain — dry land, not where a water bird belongs. Line three is yang in a yang place at the top of Gen, strong and eager to leave the mountain, with no correspondence above (six is also yang); it attaches itself instead to the yin line four beside it. The text's images are of a bond made out of order: 'the husband goes on campaign and does not return, the wife is pregnant and does not raise the child — ominous.' The small Image reads them as 離群醜, leaving one's own kind, and 失其道, losing the proper way. The one useful outlet is 利禦寇: strength turned to defending, where the Image says neighbours 順相保, protect one another by compliance.
If this line is changing
Do not take the shortcut that is in front of you, however willing the other party is; the strength you have is better spent holding the line with those who belong to you than advancing out of order.
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 艮 Gen (Keeping Still) (mountain).
- 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
漸 Gradual Advance becomes ䷓ 20 觀 Observation
Wind over the earth: a tower from which all is seen, and which all can see. Observe deeply before acting, and remember that you are watched — sincerity even before the offering is made.
What it becomes20 · 觀 ObservationguānThe 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 Nine in the third place of hexagram 53, Gradual Advance, mean?
- The goose comes to the high plain — dry land, not where a water bird belongs. Line three is yang in a yang place at the top of Gen, strong and eager to leave the mountain, with no correspondence above (six is also yang); it attaches itself instead to the yin line four beside it. The text's images are of a bond made out of order: 'the husband goes on campaign and does not return, the wife is pregnant and does not raise the child — ominous.' The small Image reads them as 離群醜, leaving one's own kind, and 失其道, losing the proper way. The one useful outlet is 利禦寇: strength turned to defending, where the Image says neighbours 順相保, protect one another by compliance.
- What does hexagram 53 become when line 3 changes?
- Gradual Advance becomes hexagram 20, 觀 Observation: Wind over the earth: a tower from which all is seen, and which all can see. Observe deeply before acting, and remember that you are watched — sincerity even before the offering is made.
- Is line 3 of Gradual Advance 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).