Hexagram 58, line 4
九四Line 4 of Pleasure (Lake)
Nine in the fourth place · 兌 duì
爻辭 The line text
商兌，未寧，介疾有喜。The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject deliberating about what to seek his pleasure in, and not at rest. He borders on what would be injurious, but there will be cause for joy.
九四之喜，有慶也。'The joy in connexion with (the subject of) the fourth line, undivided,' is due to the happiness (which he will produce).
In plain words
Line four is yang in a yin place at the bottom of the upper lake, wedged between the ruler above at five and the flattering yin line below at three, and it is 'deliberating about its pleasure, not yet at rest' (商兌未寧). It has two sources of joy on offer, the right one and the easy one, and the text catches it in the act of choosing. The second clause settles it: 'it keeps the sickness at a distance, and there is cause for joy' — it holds itself apart (介) from the harmful line beneath and stays with the ruler. The small Image calls the result a blessing (有慶), joy that spreads to others because it was chosen carefully.
If this line is changing
Being torn between an easy pleasure and a right one is not a failure, it is the test; draw the line firmly on the side of what is sound and the unease will turn into joy.
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 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 1: 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 ䷻ 60 節 Measure
Water above the lake: the lake holds just so much. Success through limits — but bitter, excessive limitation cannot be sustained; measure that fits is the point.
What it becomes60 · 節 MeasurejiéThe 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 fourth place of hexagram 58, Pleasure (Lake), mean?
- Line four is yang in a yin place at the bottom of the upper lake, wedged between the ruler above at five and the flattering yin line below at three, and it is 'deliberating about its pleasure, not yet at rest' (商兌未寧). It has two sources of joy on offer, the right one and the easy one, and the text catches it in the act of choosing. The second clause settles it: 'it keeps the sickness at a distance, and there is cause for joy' — it holds itself apart (介) from the harmful line beneath and stays with the ruler. The small Image calls the result a blessing (有慶), joy that spreads to others because it was chosen carefully.
- What does hexagram 58 become when line 4 changes?
- Pleasure (Lake) becomes hexagram 60, 節 Measure: Water above the lake: the lake holds just so much. Success through limits — but bitter, excessive limitation cannot be sustained; measure that fits is the point.
- Is line 4 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.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).