Hexagram 64, line 2
九二Line 2 of Not Yet Crossed
Nine in the second place · 未濟 wèi jì
爻辭 The line text
曳其輪，貞吉。The second line, undivided, shows its subject dragging back his (carriage-) wheel. With firmness and correctness there will be good fortune.
九二貞吉，中以行正也。'The second line, undivided, shows good fortune arising from being firm and correct:'—it is in the central place, and the action of its subject thereby becomes correct.
In plain words
Line two is the strong line at the centre of the water, in a yin place but central, and it corresponds to the yin ruler at five — the Tuan's 'firm and yielding respond to each other, though the places are not appropriate'. It 'drags its wheel', the same brake the first line of Ji Ji applied, and here the text adds 'steadiness, good fortune'. In the midst of danger, with the crossing not yet made, a strong line that holds its own momentum in check and waits for the ruler's call is doing exactly what the time asks. The small Image says that being central is what makes its action correct (中以行正也): the right place in the wrong position.
If this line is changing
You have the strength to go, and the right move is to hold it in reserve; keep your own momentum checked and let the one you answer to set the moment.
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 坎 Kan (the Abysmal) (water).
- It corresponds (應) with line 5: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
未濟 Not Yet Crossed becomes ䷢ 35 晉 Advancing
The sun rising over the earth: progress. The capable prince is rewarded with horses and received three times in a day — advancement in the light.
What it becomes35 · 晉 AdvancingjìnThe six lines of 未濟 Not Yet Crossed
- 初六Six at the beginningwet tail · setting out too soon · not knowing limits
- 九二Nine in the second placeholding the wheel · steadiness · central and correct
- 六三Six in the third placenot yet across · advance is evil · yet cross the river
- 九四Nine in the fourth placerousing to the campaign · three years · will carried out
- 六五Six in the fifth placethe gentleman's light · sincerity · no regret
- 上九Nine at the topconfident feasting · head under water · losing measure
Read 未濟 Not Yet Crossed for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the second place of hexagram 64, Not Yet Crossed, mean?
- Line two is the strong line at the centre of the water, in a yin place but central, and it corresponds to the yin ruler at five — the Tuan's 'firm and yielding respond to each other, though the places are not appropriate'. It 'drags its wheel', the same brake the first line of Ji Ji applied, and here the text adds 'steadiness, good fortune'. In the midst of danger, with the crossing not yet made, a strong line that holds its own momentum in check and waits for the ruler's call is doing exactly what the time asks. The small Image says that being central is what makes its action correct (中以行正也): the right place in the wrong position.
- What does hexagram 64 become when line 2 changes?
- Not Yet Crossed becomes hexagram 35, 晉 Advancing: The sun rising over the earth: progress. The capable prince is rewarded with horses and received three times in a day — advancement in the light.
- Is line 2 of Not Yet Crossed 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).