Hexagram 8, line 1
初六Line 1 of Alliance
Six at the beginning · 比 bǐ
爻辭 The line text
有孚，比之，无咎。有孚盈缶，終來有它吉。The first line, divided, shows its subject seeking by his sincerity to win the attachment of his object. There will be no error. Let (the breast) be full of sincerity as an earthenware vessel is of its contents, and it will in the end bring other advantages.
比之初六，有他吉也。From 'the seeking union with its object' shown in the first line, divided, there will be other advantages.
In plain words
'With sincerity, hold together: no blame. With sincerity filling the earthen jar, in the end other good fortune comes.' Line one is yin at the bottom of Kun, the first and farthest of the five yielding lines that gather around the single strong ruler at five. It has no correspondent — line four is also yin — and so no claim on anyone; all it brings to the alliance is sincerity, pictured as a plain clay pot filled to the brim. That is enough. The small Image says that for the first line of Bi 'there is other good fortune' (有它吉也): rewards one did not bargain for come to the one who joins honestly and early. Cheng Yi stresses the word 'beginning' — alliance must be sincere at its root or nothing built on it holds.
If this line is changing
Join with nothing more than plain sincerity and no expectation of a return; what comes back to you will be more than you asked for, and from a direction you did not plan.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin 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 lower trigram 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 4: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
比 Alliance becomes ䷂ 3 屯 Sprouting
Thunder under water: a sprout pushing through hard ground. Beginnings are chaotic and effortful; the growth is real, but it needs order and helpers.
What it becomes3 · 屯 SproutingzhūnThe six lines of 比 Alliance
- 初六Six at the beginningsincerity · a full jar · unexpected good
- 六二Six in the second placefrom within · steadfast · not losing oneself
- 六三Six in the third placethe wrong people · misplaced loyalty · harm
- 六四Six in the fourth placefrom without · following the worthy · upward
- 九五Nine in the fifth placeopen alliance · three-sided hunt · letting the game go
- 上六Six at the topno head · too late · nowhere to end
Read 比 Alliance for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six at the beginning of hexagram 8, Alliance, mean?
- 'With sincerity, hold together: no blame. With sincerity filling the earthen jar, in the end other good fortune comes.' Line one is yin at the bottom of Kun, the first and farthest of the five yielding lines that gather around the single strong ruler at five. It has no correspondent — line four is also yin — and so no claim on anyone; all it brings to the alliance is sincerity, pictured as a plain clay pot filled to the brim. That is enough. The small Image says that for the first line of Bi 'there is other good fortune' (有它吉也): rewards one did not bargain for come to the one who joins honestly and early. Cheng Yi stresses the word 'beginning' — alliance must be sincere at its root or nothing built on it holds.
- What does hexagram 8 become when line 1 changes?
- Alliance becomes hexagram 3, 屯 Sprouting: Thunder under water: a sprout pushing through hard ground. Beginnings are chaotic and effortful; the growth is real, but it needs order and helpers.
- Is line 1 of Alliance 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).