Line 3 of
Hexagram 11: 泰
“Pervading” — King Wen #11 · 九三
Line 3 九三
無平不陂，無往不復；艱貞無咎，勿恤其孚，于食有福。
The third NINE, undivided, shows that, while there is no state of peace that is not liable to be disturbed, and no departure (of evil men) so that they shall not return, yet when one is firm and correct, as he realises the distresses that may arise, he will commit no error. There is no occasion for sadness at the certainty (of such recurring changes); and in this mood the happiness (of the present) may be (long) enjoyed.
— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1882 (public domain)
The Changed Hexagram 之卦
Line 3 changing turns hexagram 11 into䷒ Hexagram 19: 臨 — “Nearing”Read line 3 of hexagram 19 →Reading This Line
In the received Zhouyi text, line 3 of hexagram 11 is a strong (yang) line occupying the third line, at the threshold between the lower and upper trigrams — in the received text a classic place of unease. The classical line statement — 無平不陂，無往不復；艱貞無咎，勿恤其孚，于食有福。 — is what commentators from the Ten Wings onward have read as the figure's own commentary on this one position. James Legge's 1882 rendering, quoted above, keeps the imagery of the original: each line of a hexagram is read as a stage of the same picture, and this page collects the source text for that stage. If you treat the line as moving in the traditional way, flipping it alone produces the changed hexagram linked above; readers have long used that pair of figures to compare a situation as given with the same situation one line different. As always with classical divination texts, this is presented for cultural and reference interest — the text itself carries no prediction about any modern reader's situation.
Questions About Hexagram 11 Line 3
What does line 3 of hexagram 11 say?
The received text reads: 無平不陂，無往不復；艱貞無咎，勿恤其孚，于食有福。 In James Legge's 1882 translation: “The third NINE, undivided, shows that, while there is no state of peace that is not liable to be disturbed, and no departure (of evil men) so that they shall not return, yet when one is firm and correct, as he realises the distresses that may arise, he will commit no error. There is no occasion for sadness at the certainty (of such recurring changes); and in this mood the happiness (of the present) may be (long) enjoyed.”
Which hexagram does line 3 change hexagram 11 into?
Changing only line 3 of hexagram 11 (泰, “Pervading”) gives hexagram 19 — 臨 (lín, “Nearing”). This is the classical way a changed hexagram is derived from moving lines.
Are line pages available for every hexagram?
Yes. Every one of the 64 hexagrams now has six line pages — one per line from the bottom line up to the top line — each with the classical Chinese text, Legge's 1882 translation, and the changed hexagram that line produces when it moves.
1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1882), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text. · For reflection and reference — not financial, medical, or life advice.