Hexagram 58, line 2
九二Line 2 of Pleasure (Lake)
Nine in the second place · 兌 duì
爻辭 The line text
孚兌，吉，悔亡。The second line, undivided, shows the pleasure arising from (inward) sincerity. There will be good fortune. Occasion for repentance will disappear.
孚兌之吉，信志也。'The good fortune attached to the pleasure arising from (inward sincerity)' is due to the confidence felt in the object (of the subject of the line).
In plain words
Line two is yang at the centre of the lower lake, strong but in a yin place and directly beneath line three, the yin line that 'comes seeking pleasure'. Its exposure to that temptation is why the text mentions regret at all; its sincerity (孚兌) is why the regret disappears and the outcome is good. The received reading is that a central line is held by its own truthfulness and does not need to be guarded from the pleasures beside it. The small Image says the good fortune comes from a will that is trusted (信志): others believe this line because it believes what it says.
If this line is changing
Keep your pleasure honest when someone nearby is offering an easier, flattering version of it; sincerity at the centre is all the protection you need.
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 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- 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
兌 Pleasure (Lake) becomes ䷐ 17 隨 Following Along
Thunder resting in the lake: following the time, taking rest in the evening. Supreme success in following what is right — and in being worth following.
What it becomes17 · 隨 Following AlongsuíThe six lines of 兌 Pleasure (Lake)
- 初九Nine at the beginningharmonious joy · nothing to doubt · self-contained
- 九二Nine in the second placesincere joy · trust · regret vanishes
- 六三Six in the third placeseeking pleasure · flattery · wrong place
- 九四Nine in the fourth placeweighing pleasures · unsettled · keeping away from harm
- 九五Nine in the fifth placetrusting the wrong one · danger · correct place
- 上六Six at the topdrawing others in · pleasure as lure · not yet bright
Read 兌 Pleasure (Lake) for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the second place of hexagram 58, Pleasure (Lake), mean?
- Line two is yang at the centre of the lower lake, strong but in a yin place and directly beneath line three, the yin line that 'comes seeking pleasure'. Its exposure to that temptation is why the text mentions regret at all; its sincerity (孚兌) is why the regret disappears and the outcome is good. The received reading is that a central line is held by its own truthfulness and does not need to be guarded from the pleasures beside it. The small Image says the good fortune comes from a will that is trusted (信志): others believe this line because it believes what it says.
- What does hexagram 58 become when line 2 changes?
- Pleasure (Lake) becomes hexagram 17, 隨 Following Along: Thunder resting in the lake: following the time, taking rest in the evening. Supreme success in following what is right — and in being worth following.
- Is line 2 of Pleasure (Lake) 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).