Hexagram 55, line 1
初九Line 1 of Plenty
Nine at the beginning · 豐 fēng
爻辭 The line text
遇其配主，雖旬无咎，往有尚。The first line, undivided, shows its subject meeting with his mate. Though they are both of the same character, there will be no error. Advance will call forth approval.
雖旬无咎，過旬災也。'Though they are both of the same character, there will be no error:'—if the subject of this line seek to overpass that similarity, there will be calamity.
In plain words
'He meets his matching lord; though they are equals, no blame; to go forward is esteemed.' Line one is yang at the bottom of Li, clarity, and its partner is line four, yang at the bottom of Zhen, movement — not a correspondence of opposites but a pairing of equals, 配主. 旬 is a ten-day cycle, read as 'the same, equal': two yang lines of the same kind. Abundance is made of clarity joined to movement, and this is where they join. The small Image adds the limit: 過旬災也, to exceed the equality brings disaster — if one of the pair tries to outgrow the other, the partnership that makes abundance possible breaks.
If this line is changing
You have found the partner who matches you, and the partnership works because you are equals; go forward with it, and do not try to become the greater of the two.
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 離 Li (the Clinging) (fire).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 4: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
豐 Plenty becomes ䷽ 62 小過 Small Excess
Thunder on the mountain: the flying bird leaves its call behind. Success in small things, not great; better to come down than to go up — overdo the small virtues of respect, grief and thrift rather than attempt grand moves.
What it becomes62 · 小過 Small Excessxiǎo guòThe six lines of 豐 Plenty
- 初九Nine at the beginningmeeting one's match · equals · ten days
- 六二Six in the second placescreened · stars at noon · sincerity moves
- 九三Nine in the third placebanner-dark · broken arm · not for great things
- 九四Nine in the fourth placescreened again · meeting one's equal · act now
- 六五Six in the fifth placebrilliance comes · blessing and praise · the receptive ruler
- 上六Six at the tophouse too large · no one at the door · three years unseen
Read 豐 Plenty for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine at the beginning of hexagram 55, Plenty, mean?
- 'He meets his matching lord; though they are equals, no blame; to go forward is esteemed.' Line one is yang at the bottom of Li, clarity, and its partner is line four, yang at the bottom of Zhen, movement — not a correspondence of opposites but a pairing of equals, 配主. 旬 is a ten-day cycle, read as 'the same, equal': two yang lines of the same kind. Abundance is made of clarity joined to movement, and this is where they join. The small Image adds the limit: 過旬災也, to exceed the equality brings disaster — if one of the pair tries to outgrow the other, the partnership that makes abundance possible breaks.
- What does hexagram 55 become when line 1 changes?
- Plenty becomes hexagram 62, 小過 Small Excess: Thunder on the mountain: the flying bird leaves its call behind. Success in small things, not great; better to come down than to go up — overdo the small virtues of respect, grief and thrift rather than attempt grand moves.
- Is line 1 of Plenty 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).