Hexagram 61, line 2
九二Line 2 of Inner Sincerity
Nine in the second place · 中孚 zhōng fú
爻辭 The line text
鳴鶴在陰，其子和之，我有好爵，吾與爾靡之。The second line, undivided, shows its subject (like) the crane crying out in her hidden retirement, and her young ones responding to her. (It is as if it were said), 'I have a cup of good spirits,' (and the response were), 'I will partake of it with you.'
其子和之，中心願也。'Her young ones respond to her:'—from the (common) wish of the inmost heart.
In plain words
Line two is yang at the centre of the lower trigram, and its text is one of the most loved in the book: 'a crane calls in the shade, and its young answer; I have a good cup, and I will share it with you.' The crane is unseen, calling from hiding, and is answered not because it is heard by everyone but because its own kind recognise the sound. The Xici commentary takes this line as its model for how words spoken sincerely in one's own room are answered from a thousand miles away. The small Image says the answer comes from 'the wish of the inmost heart' (中心願): sincerity at the centre draws a response that was not solicited.
If this line is changing
Say what you mean from where you stand, without arranging an audience; those who share your nature will answer, and what you have is for sharing with them.
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 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- 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
中孚 Inner Sincerity becomes ䷩ 42 益 Augmenting
Wind and thunder strengthening each other: increase. Favourable to undertake something and to cross the great river; those above give to those below, and everyone rejoices.
What it becomes42 · 益 AugmentingyìThe six lines of 中孚 Inner Sincerity
- 初九Nine at the beginningsettled trust · no other · purpose unchanged
- 九二Nine in the second placethe calling crane · answered in kind · shared cup
- 六三Six in the third placedepending on another · drum and stop · weep and sing
- 六四Six in the fourth placemoon nearly full · losing the team-mate · mounting upward
- 九五Nine in the fifth placesincerity that binds · closest union · correct place
- 上九Nine at the topcock crowing at heaven · sound without substance · cannot last
Read 中孚 Inner Sincerity for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the second place of hexagram 61, Inner Sincerity, mean?
- Line two is yang at the centre of the lower trigram, and its text is one of the most loved in the book: 'a crane calls in the shade, and its young answer; I have a good cup, and I will share it with you.' The crane is unseen, calling from hiding, and is answered not because it is heard by everyone but because its own kind recognise the sound. The Xici commentary takes this line as its model for how words spoken sincerely in one's own room are answered from a thousand miles away. The small Image says the answer comes from 'the wish of the inmost heart' (中心願): sincerity at the centre draws a response that was not solicited.
- What does hexagram 61 become when line 2 changes?
- Inner Sincerity becomes hexagram 42, 益 Augmenting: Wind and thunder strengthening each other: increase. Favourable to undertake something and to cross the great river; those above give to those below, and everyone rejoices.
- Is line 2 of Inner Sincerity 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).