Hexagram 56, line 6
上九Line 6 of Traveling
Nine at the top · 旅 lǚ
爻辭 The line text
鳥焚其巢，旅人先笑後號咷。喪牛于易，凶。The sixth line, undivided, suggests the idea of a bird burning its nest. The stranger, (thus represented), first laughs and then cries out. He has lost his ox(-like docility) too readily and easily. There will be evil.
以旅在上，其義焚也。喪牛于易，終莫之聞也。'Considering that the stranger is here at the very height (of distinction),' with the spirit that possesses him, it is right he (should be emblemed by a bird) burning (its nest). 'He loses his ox (- like docility) too readily and easily:'—to the end he would not listen to (the truth about the course to be pursued).
In plain words
'The bird burns its nest; the wanderer first laughs, then wails; he loses his ox through carelessness; ominous.' Line six is yang at the very top of Li, fire at its highest, and a traveller at the top is in the wrong place by definition — the small Image says 以旅在上，其義焚也, a stranger up here is bound to be burned. The nest is the high perch he made for himself; the laughter is his pride in it; the wailing comes when it goes up in flames. The ox, the most docile of animals, is his own compliance, lost 於易, through taking things lightly. The Image's last word: 終莫之聞也, to the end he hears nothing — no one tells a man that high what he needs to know.
If this line is changing
You have climbed higher than a guest should and lost the docility that kept you safe; come down before the nest burns, and find someone who will still tell you the truth.
Where the line stands
- A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang 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 upper trigram 離 Li (the Clinging) (fire).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 3: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
旅 Traveling 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 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 Nine at the top of hexagram 56, Traveling, mean?
- 'The bird burns its nest; the wanderer first laughs, then wails; he loses his ox through carelessness; ominous.' Line six is yang at the very top of Li, fire at its highest, and a traveller at the top is in the wrong place by definition — the small Image says 以旅在上，其義焚也, a stranger up here is bound to be burned. The nest is the high perch he made for himself; the laughter is his pride in it; the wailing comes when it goes up in flames. The ox, the most docile of animals, is his own compliance, lost 於易, through taking things lightly. The Image's last word: 終莫之聞也, to the end he hears nothing — no one tells a man that high what he needs to know.
- What does hexagram 56 become when line 6 changes?
- Traveling 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 6 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.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).