Hexagram 6, line 6
上九Line 6 of Dispute
Nine at the top · 訟 sòng
爻辭 The line text
或錫之鞶帶，終朝三褫之。The topmost line, undivided, shows how its subject may have the leathern belt conferred on him (by the sovereign), and thrice it shall be taken from him in a morning.
以訟受服，亦不足敬也。'He receives the robe through his contention:'—but still he is not deserving of respect.
In plain words
'Perhaps one is granted a leather belt of office; by the end of the morning it is taken away three times.' Line six is yang at the top of Qian, the extreme of strength and the end of the dispute: this is the one who fought to the finish and won. The judgment has already said what that means — 'carrying it through to the end, misfortune' (終凶). The prize is real, a belt that marks rank, and it does not stay: honours won by contention are stripped as fast as they are given. The small Image says that what is received through litigation 'is also not worthy of respect' (亦不足敬也). Zhu Xi notes that the line is given no verdict because the picture of the belt coming off three times in a morning is verdict enough.
If this line is changing
If you win this by fighting it to the end, what you win will not stay with you and will not earn you respect; the victory itself is the thing to give up.
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 3: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
訟 Dispute becomes ䷮ 47 困 Confinement
A lake with no water in it: exhaustion. Success is still possible for the great person who stays correct — words are not believed now, so prove yourself by steadiness.
What it becomes47 · 困 ConfinementkùnThe 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 at the top of hexagram 6, Dispute, mean?
- 'Perhaps one is granted a leather belt of office; by the end of the morning it is taken away three times.' Line six is yang at the top of Qian, the extreme of strength and the end of the dispute: this is the one who fought to the finish and won. The judgment has already said what that means — 'carrying it through to the end, misfortune' (終凶). The prize is real, a belt that marks rank, and it does not stay: honours won by contention are stripped as fast as they are given. The small Image says that what is received through litigation 'is also not worthy of respect' (亦不足敬也). Zhu Xi notes that the line is given no verdict because the picture of the belt coming off three times in a morning is verdict enough.
- What does hexagram 6 become when line 6 changes?
- Dispute becomes hexagram 47, 困 Confinement: A lake with no water in it: exhaustion. Success is still possible for the great person who stays correct — words are not believed now, so prove yourself by steadiness.
- Is line 6 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).