Hexagram 6, line 3
六三Line 3 of Dispute
Six in the third place · 訟 sòng
爻辭 The line text
食舊德，貞厲，終吉，或從王事，无成。The third line, divided, shows its subject keeping in the old place assigned for his support, and firmly correct. Perilous as the position is, there will be good fortune in the end. Should he perchance engage in the king's business, he will not (claim the merit of) achievement.
食舊德，從上吉也。'He confines himself to the support assigned to him of old:'—(thus) following those above him, he will have good fortune.
In plain words
'Living on old virtue: steadfastness, danger, in the end good fortune; if one follows the king's business, claim no completion.' Line three is yin in a yang place at the top of Kan, weak in a hard position between two strong lines, and it corresponds to the strong top line. It does not contend at all: it lives on what it already has, the merit earned before the quarrel began, and though the position is perilous it ends well. The small Image reads 'living on old virtue' as 'following the one above, good fortune' (從上吉也) — attaching to its correspondent rather than fighting its neighbours. The last clause repeats Kun's third line: do the work, take no credit, and stay out of the contest for it.
If this line is changing
Do not enter the fight; rely on what you have already earned, keep doing your part, and let the credit go to whoever wants to argue over 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 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 lower trigram 坎 Kan (the Abysmal) (water).
- It corresponds (應) with line 6: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
訟 Dispute becomes ䷫ 44 姤 Encounter
Wind under heaven: one yin line arriving beneath five yang. An encounter — the woman is strong; do not marry her. Something small and tempting enters; watch it from the start.
What it becomes44 · 姤 EncountergòuThe six lines of 訟 Dispute
- 初六Six at the beginningnot prolonging · a little talk · clear in the end
- 九二Nine in the second placecannot win · going home · the town is spared
- 六三Six in the third placeliving on old merit · steadfast but perilous · no credit
- 九四Nine in the fourth placecannot win · turning back · changing one's mind
- 九五Nine in the fifth placethe judge · supreme good fortune · central and correct
- 上九Nine at the topthe belt of honour · stripped three times · won by litigation
Read 訟 Dispute for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the third place of hexagram 6, Dispute, mean?
- 'Living on old virtue: steadfastness, danger, in the end good fortune; if one follows the king's business, claim no completion.' Line three is yin in a yang place at the top of Kan, weak in a hard position between two strong lines, and it corresponds to the strong top line. It does not contend at all: it lives on what it already has, the merit earned before the quarrel began, and though the position is perilous it ends well. The small Image reads 'living on old virtue' as 'following the one above, good fortune' (從上吉也) — attaching to its correspondent rather than fighting its neighbours. The last clause repeats Kun's third line: do the work, take no credit, and stay out of the contest for it.
- What does hexagram 6 become when line 3 changes?
- Dispute becomes hexagram 44, 姤 Encounter: Wind under heaven: one yin line arriving beneath five yang. An encounter — the woman is strong; do not marry her. Something small and tempting enters; watch it from the start.
- Is line 3 of Dispute 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).