Hexagram 6, line 4
九四Line 4 of Dispute
Nine in the fourth place · 訟 sòng
爻辭 The line text
不克訟，復即命渝，安貞吉。The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject unequal to the contention. He returns to (the study of Heaven's) ordinances, changes (his wish to contend), and rests in being firm and correct. There will be good fortune.
復即命，渝安貞；不失也。'He returns to (the study of Heaven's) ordinances, changes (his wish to contend), and rests in being firm and correct:'—he does not fail (in doing what is right).
In plain words
'Unable to win the dispute, one turns back and submits to the decree, changes one's attitude, and steadfastness in peace brings good fortune.' Line four is yang in a yin place, the first line of Qian above, strong but out of position. It wants to contend — with the weak first line below, which it corresponds to, and with the ruler beside it — and it cannot win either quarrel honourably, because the first is too weak to fight and the fifth too right. So it does something better than retreating: it changes (渝), returning to what is proper (命). The small Image says that in returning and changing to peaceful steadfastness one 'loses nothing' (不失也). Wang Bi: this is the strong person who discovers that the quarrel is not worth their strength.
If this line is changing
You could press this, and you would not win anything worth having; turn around, accept the rightful outcome, and change your own stance — nothing is lost by doing so.
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 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- It corresponds (應) with line 1: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
訟 Dispute becomes ䷺ 59 渙 Dispersing
Wind over water: dispersing. Success; the king approaches the temple; favourable to cross the great river — scattering rigidity, selfishness and division so that people regroup around something shared.
What it becomes59 · 渙 DispersinghuànThe 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 Nine in the fourth place of hexagram 6, Dispute, mean?
- 'Unable to win the dispute, one turns back and submits to the decree, changes one's attitude, and steadfastness in peace brings good fortune.' Line four is yang in a yin place, the first line of Qian above, strong but out of position. It wants to contend — with the weak first line below, which it corresponds to, and with the ruler beside it — and it cannot win either quarrel honourably, because the first is too weak to fight and the fifth too right. So it does something better than retreating: it changes (渝), returning to what is proper (命). The small Image says that in returning and changing to peaceful steadfastness one 'loses nothing' (不失也). Wang Bi: this is the strong person who discovers that the quarrel is not worth their strength.
- What does hexagram 6 become when line 4 changes?
- Dispute becomes hexagram 59, 渙 Dispersing: Wind over water: dispersing. Success; the king approaches the temple; favourable to cross the great river — scattering rigidity, selfishness and division so that people regroup around something shared.
- Is line 4 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).