Hexagram 61, line 5
九五Line 5 of Inner Sincerity
Nine in the fifth place · 中孚 zhōng fú
爻辭 The line text
有孚攣如，无咎。The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject perfectly sincere, and linking (others) to him in closest union. There will be no error.
有孚攣如，位正當也。'He is perfectly sincere, and links others to him in closest union:'—the place (of the line) is the correct and appropriate one.
In plain words
Line five is the ruler of Zhong Fu, yang in the central and correct place of the upper trigram — one of the two 'firm lines in the centre' that the Tuan says can transform a state. Its sincerity 'binds together' (攣如), the character picturing things drawn tight by a cord: the ruler's truthfulness is what holds the others in union, and the text says no blame. The modesty of the verdict is characteristic of the hexagram, which promises connection rather than triumph. The small Image credits the correct and appropriate position (位正當也): sincerity at the centre binds because it is at the centre.
If this line is changing
Hold people together by being consistently truthful at the centre rather than by pulling on them; the union that sincerity makes is the one that does not need enforcing.
Where the line stands
- A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang line that moves when cast.
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
- It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the upper trigram 巽 Xun (the Gentle) (wind).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 2: 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 ䷨ 41 損 Diminishing
The lake at the foot of the mountain giving up its moisture: decrease. Sincerity makes even decrease supremely fortunate — two bowls of simple food suffice for the offering.
What it becomes41 · 損 DiminishingsǔnThe 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 fifth place of hexagram 61, Inner Sincerity, mean?
- Line five is the ruler of Zhong Fu, yang in the central and correct place of the upper trigram — one of the two 'firm lines in the centre' that the Tuan says can transform a state. Its sincerity 'binds together' (攣如), the character picturing things drawn tight by a cord: the ruler's truthfulness is what holds the others in union, and the text says no blame. The modesty of the verdict is characteristic of the hexagram, which promises connection rather than triumph. The small Image credits the correct and appropriate position (位正當也): sincerity at the centre binds because it is at the centre.
- What does hexagram 61 become when line 5 changes?
- Inner Sincerity becomes hexagram 41, 損 Diminishing: The lake at the foot of the mountain giving up its moisture: decrease. Sincerity makes even decrease supremely fortunate — two bowls of simple food suffice for the offering.
- Is line 5 of Inner Sincerity in its correct place?
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands. 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).