Hexagram 59, line 2
九二Line 2 of Dispersing
Nine in the second place · 渙 huàn
爻辭 The line text
渙奔其机，悔亡。The second line, undivided, shows its subject, amid the dispersion, hurrying to his contrivance (for security). All occasion for repentance will disappear.
渙奔其机，得愿也。'Amidst the prevailing dispersion, he hurries to his contrivance (for security):'—he gets what he desires.
In plain words
Line two is the strong line at the centre of Kan, the water — the Tuan's 'strong line that comes and is not exhausted'. In the middle of the dispersal it 'runs to its support' (奔其機): the ji is a low table or stool to lean on, read by many commentators as the weak line one beneath it, the place where this line can rest while everything around it scatters. A yang line in a yin place in the trigram of danger would have regret; running to what steadies it makes the regret disappear. The small Image says it 'gets what it wishes' (得願): in a time of dissolution the wish is simply for a firm place to stand.
If this line is changing
When everything around you is scattering, go quickly to whatever steadies you — a person, a routine, a settled base — and work from there.
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 坎 Kan (the Abysmal) (water).
- 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
渙 Dispersing becomes ䷓ 20 觀 Observation
Wind over the earth: a tower from which all is seen, and which all can see. Observe deeply before acting, and remember that you are watched — sincerity even before the offering is made.
What it becomes20 · 觀 ObservationguānThe six lines of 渙 Dispersing
- 初六Six at the beginningearly rescue · strong horse · going along
- 九二Nine in the second placehurrying to support · amid dispersal · regret vanishes
- 六三Six in the third placedissolving the self · outward will · no regret
- 六四Six in the fourth placedissolving factions · gathering a hill · great good fortune
- 九五Nine in the fifth placethe great proclamation · like sweat · scattering the stores
- 上九Nine at the topleaving harm behind · far away · no blame
Read 渙 Dispersing for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the second place of hexagram 59, Dispersing, mean?
- Line two is the strong line at the centre of Kan, the water — the Tuan's 'strong line that comes and is not exhausted'. In the middle of the dispersal it 'runs to its support' (奔其機): the ji is a low table or stool to lean on, read by many commentators as the weak line one beneath it, the place where this line can rest while everything around it scatters. A yang line in a yin place in the trigram of danger would have regret; running to what steadies it makes the regret disappear. The small Image says it 'gets what it wishes' (得願): in a time of dissolution the wish is simply for a firm place to stand.
- What does hexagram 59 become when line 2 changes?
- Dispersing becomes hexagram 20, 觀 Observation: Wind over the earth: a tower from which all is seen, and which all can see. Observe deeply before acting, and remember that you are watched — sincerity even before the offering is made.
- Is line 2 of Dispersing 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).