Hexagram 59, line 6
上九Line 6 of Dispersing
Nine at the top · 渙 huàn
爻辭 The line text
渙其血，去逖出，无咎。The topmost line, undivided, shows its subject disposing of (what may be called) its bloody wounds, and going and separating himself from its anxious fears. There will be no error.
渙其血，遠害也。'His bloody wounds are gone:'—he is far removed from the danger of injury.
In plain words
The top line is yang at the far end of the wind, the furthest point from the water and its dangers, and it corresponds to line three at the top of Kan. What it disperses is 'its blood' (渙其血) — blood meaning wounds and the fear of them — and it 'goes far off and out', withdrawing from the whole scene of dissolution. The text says no blame: at the end of Huan there is nothing left to gather, only distance to keep. The small Image reads it as being far from harm (遠害), and the commentators note this is the one line in the hexagram whose dispersal is simply an exit.
If this line is changing
Walk away from the wounds and the worry rather than reopening them; at this stage keeping your distance is the whole of the right thing to do.
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 巽 Xun (the Gentle) (wind).
- It corresponds (應) with line 3: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
渙 Dispersing becomes ䷜ 29 坎 The Pit (Water)
Water upon water: repeated danger. With sincerity the heart gets through — flow like water, filling each hollow and moving on without losing your nature.
What it becomes29 · 坎 The Pit (Water)kǎnThe 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 at the top of hexagram 59, Dispersing, mean?
- The top line is yang at the far end of the wind, the furthest point from the water and its dangers, and it corresponds to line three at the top of Kan. What it disperses is 'its blood' (渙其血) — blood meaning wounds and the fear of them — and it 'goes far off and out', withdrawing from the whole scene of dissolution. The text says no blame: at the end of Huan there is nothing left to gather, only distance to keep. The small Image reads it as being far from harm (遠害), and the commentators note this is the one line in the hexagram whose dispersal is simply an exit.
- What does hexagram 59 become when line 6 changes?
- Dispersing becomes hexagram 29, 坎 The Pit (Water): Water upon water: repeated danger. With sincerity the heart gets through — flow like water, filling each hollow and moving on without losing your nature.
- Is line 6 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.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).