Hexagram 57, line 2
九二Line 2 of Yielding (Wind)
Nine in the second place · 巽 xùn
爻辭 The line text
巽在床下，用史巫紛若，吉，无咎。The second line, undivided, shows the representative of Sun beneath a couch, and employing diviners and exorcists in a way bordering on confusion. There will be good fortune and no error.
紛若之吉，得中也。'The good fortune springing from what borders on confusion' is due to the position (of the line) in the centre.
In plain words
A strong line sits in the yin place at the centre of the lower trigram and pictures itself 'yielding beneath the bed' — humbling itself as far as anyone can — while 'employing priests and shamans in great numbers'. Priests and shamans are those who carry sincere words to the spirits; to use them abundantly is to put the whole heart into reaching the one above. Carried this far by a weak line it would be servility, but line two is a yang line that lowers itself by choice, and the text promises good fortune and no blame. The small Image gives the reason in two characters: it is central (得中), and what is central does not lose itself even when it bows very low.
If this line is changing
Humility works here because it is sincere and deliberate; lower yourself as far as the situation needs, keep your centre, and say plainly what you mean.
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 is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 巽 Xun (the Gentle) (wind).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 5: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
巽 Yielding (Wind) becomes ䷴ 53 漸 Gradual Advance
A tree on the mountain: gradual growth. The wild goose advances stage by stage — shore, rock, dry land, tree, hill, the heights — good fortune for a marriage, success through correctness.
What it becomes53 · 漸 Gradual AdvancejiànThe six lines of 巽 Yielding (Wind)
- 初六Six at the beginningwavering · advance and retreat · soldier's resolve
- 九二Nine in the second placebeneath the bed · humble sincerity · centred
- 九三Nine in the third placeforced compliance · repeated yielding · exhausted will
- 六四Six in the fourth placeregret vanishes · threefold catch · merit
- 九五Nine in the fifth placethe ruler's command · three days before and after · good end
- 上九Nine at the topyielding exhausted · lost axe · no decision left
Read 巽 Yielding (Wind) for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the second place of hexagram 57, Yielding (Wind), mean?
- A strong line sits in the yin place at the centre of the lower trigram and pictures itself 'yielding beneath the bed' — humbling itself as far as anyone can — while 'employing priests and shamans in great numbers'. Priests and shamans are those who carry sincere words to the spirits; to use them abundantly is to put the whole heart into reaching the one above. Carried this far by a weak line it would be servility, but line two is a yang line that lowers itself by choice, and the text promises good fortune and no blame. The small Image gives the reason in two characters: it is central (得中), and what is central does not lose itself even when it bows very low.
- What does hexagram 57 become when line 2 changes?
- Yielding (Wind) becomes hexagram 53, 漸 Gradual Advance: A tree on the mountain: gradual growth. The wild goose advances stage by stage — shore, rock, dry land, tree, hill, the heights — good fortune for a marriage, success through correctness.
- Is line 2 of Yielding (Wind) 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).