Hexagram 56, line 5
六五Line 5 of Traveling
Six in the fifth place · 旅 lǚ
爻辭 The line text
射雉一矢亡，終以譽命。The fifth line, divided, shows its subject shooting a pheasant. He will lose his arrow, but in the end he will obtain praise and a (high) charge.
終以譽命，上逮也。'In the end he will obtain praise and a (high) charge:'—he has reached a high place.
In plain words
'Shooting a pheasant: one arrow is lost; in the end, praise and a charge.' Line five is the ruler of the hexagram, yin and central in Li — the Tuan's 柔得中乎外, the yielding line that holds the centre abroad and defers to the strong lines on either side. The pheasant is Li's bird, bright-feathered; to shoot it costs an arrow, a small, deliberate expense that gains a fine thing. The traveller with no standing wins standing by offering what he has. The small Image: 終以譽命，上逮也, in the end praise and appointment because he reaches up to those above. This is as well as a stranger can do: a small loss, a real gain, a place won by conduct.
If this line is changing
Be willing to spend one arrow — a modest, deliberate offering of what you can do — to reach the people who can place you; the small cost is what the praise and the position are bought with.
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 離 Li (the Clinging) (fire).
- 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
旅 Traveling becomes ䷠ 33 遯 Withdrawal
Heaven withdrawing from the mountain: retreat in good time. Yin grows, and the wise step back with dignity — success through retreat, small advantage in persevering.
What it becomes33 · 遯 WithdrawaldùnThe six lines of 旅 Traveling
- 初六Six at the beginningpetty · small-minded · self-made trouble
- 六二Six in the second placea lodging · provisions · a loyal servant
- 九三Nine in the third placeburned lodging · servant lost · harsh to the lowly
- 九四Nine in the fourth placea shelter · axe in hand · heart not at ease
- 六五Six in the fifth placeshooting the pheasant · one arrow lost · praise and appointment
- 上九Nine at the topnest burned · laughing then wailing · ox lost too easily
Read 旅 Traveling for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the fifth place of hexagram 56, Traveling, mean?
- 'Shooting a pheasant: one arrow is lost; in the end, praise and a charge.' Line five is the ruler of the hexagram, yin and central in Li — the Tuan's 柔得中乎外, the yielding line that holds the centre abroad and defers to the strong lines on either side. The pheasant is Li's bird, bright-feathered; to shoot it costs an arrow, a small, deliberate expense that gains a fine thing. The traveller with no standing wins standing by offering what he has. The small Image: 終以譽命，上逮也, in the end praise and appointment because he reaches up to those above. This is as well as a stranger can do: a small loss, a real gain, a place won by conduct.
- What does hexagram 56 become when line 5 changes?
- Traveling becomes hexagram 33, 遯 Withdrawal: Heaven withdrawing from the mountain: retreat in good time. Yin grows, and the wise step back with dignity — success through retreat, small advantage in persevering.
- Is line 5 of Traveling 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).