Hexagram 64, line 4
九四Line 4 of Not Yet Crossed
Nine in the fourth place · 未濟 wèi jì
爻辭 The line text
貞吉，悔亡，震用伐鬼方，三年有賞于大國。The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject by firm correctness obtaining good fortune, so that all occasion for repentance disappears. Let him stir himself up, as if he were invading the Demon region, where for three years rewards will come to him (and his troops) from the great kingdom.
貞吉悔亡，志行也。'By firm correctness there is good fortune, and cause for repentance disappears:'—the aim (of the subject of the line) is carried into effect.
In plain words
Line four is strong in a weak place, the first line of the fire, just out of the water: the crossing has been made, and what remains is the work on the far side. The text says 'steadiness, good fortune, regret disappears', then borrows Ji Ji's history and turns it around — 'he rouses himself to attack the Guifang, and in three years is rewarded by the great kingdom'. In the completed hexagram the campaign was a weariness; here it is the undertaking that makes a man's name. The small Image says the will is carried out (志行也). This is the line where the unfinished starts to be finished.
If this line is changing
You are through the worst and the real work begins now; commit to it fully, expect it to take years, and know that the reward comes from seeing it through.
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 離 Li (the Clinging) (fire).
- 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
未濟 Not Yet Crossed becomes ䷃ 4 蒙 Immaturity
A spring at the foot of a mountain: youthful ignorance that can be taught. Success comes to the learner who asks sincerely — the teacher does not chase the student.
What it becomes4 · 蒙 ImmaturityméngThe 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 fourth place of hexagram 64, Not Yet Crossed, mean?
- Line four is strong in a weak place, the first line of the fire, just out of the water: the crossing has been made, and what remains is the work on the far side. The text says 'steadiness, good fortune, regret disappears', then borrows Ji Ji's history and turns it around — 'he rouses himself to attack the Guifang, and in three years is rewarded by the great kingdom'. In the completed hexagram the campaign was a weariness; here it is the undertaking that makes a man's name. The small Image says the will is carried out (志行也). This is the line where the unfinished starts to be finished.
- What does hexagram 64 become when line 4 changes?
- Not Yet Crossed becomes hexagram 4, 蒙 Immaturity: A spring at the foot of a mountain: youthful ignorance that can be taught. Success comes to the learner who asks sincerely — the teacher does not chase the student.
- Is line 4 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.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).