Hexagram 7, line 4
六四Line 4 of Troops
Six in the fourth place · 師 shī
爻辭 The line text
師左次，无咎。The fourth line, divided, shows the host in retreat. There is no error.
左次无咎，未失常也。'The host is in retreat; but there is no error:'—there has been no failure in the regular course.
In plain words
'The army camps on the left: no blame.' The left was the side of retreat in ancient military usage; to 'camp on the left' is to pull back and make camp rather than engage. Line four is yin in a yin place, correct, the first line of the upper trigram Kun, and it has no strong correspondent below. Its position is sound and its forces are not. The text says 'no blame', not good fortune: withdrawing when one cannot win is not a victory, but it is the right thing. The small Image agrees that one has 'not lost the normal course' (未失常也). Cheng Yi: knowing when to retreat is as much a part of the art of command as knowing when to advance, and a correct line in a weak moment shows it.
If this line is changing
Pull back and regroup rather than engaging on bad terms; there is no fault in a retreat made in good order, and no shame in not fighting today.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin 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 belongs to the upper trigram 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 1: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
師 Troops 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 師 Troops
- 初六Six at the beginningmarching by rule · discipline · disorder is misfortune
- 九二Nine in the second placein the midst of the army · the king's favour · the commander
- 六三Six in the third placecarting corpses · misfortune · no achievement
- 六四Six in the fourth placecamping on the left · retreat · no loss
- 六五Six in the fifth placegame in the field · the eldest son commands · the wrong appointment
- 上六Six at the topthe great ruler's command · founding states · do not use small people
Read 師 Troops for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the fourth place of hexagram 7, Troops, mean?
- 'The army camps on the left: no blame.' The left was the side of retreat in ancient military usage; to 'camp on the left' is to pull back and make camp rather than engage. Line four is yin in a yin place, correct, the first line of the upper trigram Kun, and it has no strong correspondent below. Its position is sound and its forces are not. The text says 'no blame', not good fortune: withdrawing when one cannot win is not a victory, but it is the right thing. The small Image agrees that one has 'not lost the normal course' (未失常也). Cheng Yi: knowing when to retreat is as much a part of the art of command as knowing when to advance, and a correct line in a weak moment shows it.
- What does hexagram 7 become when line 4 changes?
- Troops 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 4 of Troops 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.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).