Hexagram 64, line 6
上九Line 6 of Not Yet Crossed
Nine at the top · 未濟 wèi jì
爻辭 The line text
有孚于飲酒，无咎，濡其首，有孚失是。The topmost line, undivided, shows its subject full of confidence and therefore feasting (quietly). There will be no error. (If he) cherish this confidence, till he (is like the fox who) gets his head immersed, it will fail of what is right.
飲酒濡首，亦不知節也。'He drinks and gets his head immersed:'—he does not know how to submit to the (proper) regulations.
In plain words
The top line is strong at the extreme of the fire, the end of the whole book, and it closes on a double image. First, 'sincere confidence in drinking wine, no blame': the crossing is as good as made, and the one who trusts it may rest and celebrate. Then the turn: 'if he wets his head, his confidence loses what is right' — the fox of the Judgment, drunk on the far bank, ends up in the water after all. The small Image says he 'does not know measure' (不知節也). The I Ching's last word is that confidence is allowed, and that confidence without a limit undoes the crossing it was celebrating.
If this line is changing
You may trust what you have come through and enjoy it, but set the limit before you start; the only way to lose now is to forget that the water is still there.
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 3: 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 ䷧ 40 解 Release
Thunder and rain: the storm breaks and tension dissolves. Favourable to the southwest; if there is nowhere to go, returning brings good fortune; if there is, act early.
What it becomes40 · 解 ReleasexièThe 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 at the top of hexagram 64, Not Yet Crossed, mean?
- The top line is strong at the extreme of the fire, the end of the whole book, and it closes on a double image. First, 'sincere confidence in drinking wine, no blame': the crossing is as good as made, and the one who trusts it may rest and celebrate. Then the turn: 'if he wets his head, his confidence loses what is right' — the fox of the Judgment, drunk on the far bank, ends up in the water after all. The small Image says he 'does not know measure' (不知節也). The I Ching's last word is that confidence is allowed, and that confidence without a limit undoes the crossing it was celebrating.
- What does hexagram 64 become when line 6 changes?
- Not Yet Crossed becomes hexagram 40, 解 Release: Thunder and rain: the storm breaks and tension dissolves. Favourable to the southwest; if there is nowhere to go, returning brings good fortune; if there is, act early.
- Is line 6 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).