Hexagram 58, line 6
上六Line 6 of Pleasure (Lake)
Six at the top · 兌 duì
爻辭 The line text
引兌。The topmost line, divided, shows the pleasure of its subject in leading and attracting others.
上六引兌，未光也。'The topmost line, divided, shows the pleasure (of its subject) in leading and attracting others:'—his (virtue) is not yet brilliant.
In plain words
The top line is yin at the end of the upper lake, the extreme of the hexagram of pleasure, and it 'leads others into pleasure' (引兌) — it draws them in rather than being drawn. The text gives no verdict, which the commentators take two ways: a soft line at the top has no power to do harm on its own, yet pleasure used as a lure is the mirror image of line three's flattery, pulling instead of pushing. The small Image says only that this line is 'not yet bright' (未光): its joy has not been made luminous by anything real, and it needs others to keep it going.
If this line is changing
If you find yourself drawing people in with pleasant promises rather than with anything solid, notice that the joy has run thin; let it rest instead of recruiting for it.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin line that moves when cast.
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
- It belongs to the upper trigram 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 3: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
兌 Pleasure (Lake) becomes ䷉ 10 履 Stepping
Heaven above the lake: treading on the tiger's tail without being bitten. Correct conduct and courtesy carry one through danger; know your place and walk carefully.
What it becomes10 · 履 SteppinglǚThe 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 Six at the top of hexagram 58, Pleasure (Lake), mean?
- The top line is yin at the end of the upper lake, the extreme of the hexagram of pleasure, and it 'leads others into pleasure' (引兌) — it draws them in rather than being drawn. The text gives no verdict, which the commentators take two ways: a soft line at the top has no power to do harm on its own, yet pleasure used as a lure is the mirror image of line three's flattery, pulling instead of pushing. The small Image says only that this line is 'not yet bright' (未光): its joy has not been made luminous by anything real, and it needs others to keep it going.
- What does hexagram 58 become when line 6 changes?
- Pleasure (Lake) becomes hexagram 10, 履 Stepping: Heaven above the lake: treading on the tiger's tail without being bitten. Correct conduct and courtesy carry one through danger; know your place and walk carefully.
- Is line 6 of Pleasure (Lake) in its correct place?
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).