Hexagram 55, line 3
九三Line 3 of Plenty
Nine in the third place · 豐 fēng
爻辭 The line text
豐其沛，日中見沬，折其右肱，无咎。The third line, undivided, shows its subject with an (additional) screen of a large and thick banner, through which at midday he can see (the small) Mei star. (In the darkness) he breaks his right arm; but there will be no error.
豐其沛，不可大事也。折其右肱，終不可用也。'There is an (additional) screen of a large and thick banner:'—great things should not be attempted (in such circumstances). 'He breaks his right arm:'—in the end he will not be fit to be employed.
In plain words
'The curtain is made abundant; at noon one sees the faint stars; he breaks his right arm; no blame.' Line three is yang in a yang place at the top of Li, strong and bright, and it corresponds to the yin top line — but the top line is the hexagram's darkest point, the empty house, and its darkness falls on three. 沛 is heavier than 蔀, a banner or curtain, and now even the small stars (沬) are visible at midday. In that dark the strong line injures its own right arm: it cannot be used. The small Image says both halves: 不可大事也, no great undertaking is possible, and 終不可用也, in the end it is not fit to be employed. The 'no blame' is because the fault lies in the darkness above, not in the line.
If this line is changing
The darkness around you is not of your making, but it has taken away your working arm; do not attempt anything large under it, and accept that this is a time to be unusable without being at fault.
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 corresponds (應) with line 6: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
豐 Plenty becomes ䷲ 51 震 Shock (Thunder)
Thunder upon thunder: shock. It arrives with alarm and is followed by laughter; the shock shakes a hundred miles, yet the sacrificial spoon is not dropped.
What it becomes51 · 震 Shock (Thunder)zhènThe 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 in the third place of hexagram 55, Plenty, mean?
- 'The curtain is made abundant; at noon one sees the faint stars; he breaks his right arm; no blame.' Line three is yang in a yang place at the top of Li, strong and bright, and it corresponds to the yin top line — but the top line is the hexagram's darkest point, the empty house, and its darkness falls on three. 沛 is heavier than 蔀, a banner or curtain, and now even the small stars (沬) are visible at midday. In that dark the strong line injures its own right arm: it cannot be used. The small Image says both halves: 不可大事也, no great undertaking is possible, and 終不可用也, in the end it is not fit to be employed. The 'no blame' is because the fault lies in the darkness above, not in the line.
- What does hexagram 55 become when line 3 changes?
- Plenty becomes hexagram 51, 震 Shock (Thunder): Thunder upon thunder: shock. It arrives with alarm and is followed by laughter; the shock shakes a hundred miles, yet the sacrificial spoon is not dropped.
- Is line 3 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).