Line 3 of
Hexagram 39: 蹇
“Limping” — King Wen #39 · 九三
Line 3 九三
往蹇，來反。
The third NINE, undivided, shows its subject advancing, (but only) to (greater) difficulties. He remains stationary, and returns (to his former associates).
— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1882 (public domain)
The Changed Hexagram 之卦
Line 3 changing turns hexagram 39 into䷇ Hexagram 8: 比 — “Grouping”Read line 3 of hexagram 8 →Reading This Line
In the received Zhouyi text, line 3 of hexagram 39 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 — 往蹇，來反。 — 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 39 Line 3
What does line 3 of hexagram 39 say?
The received text reads: 往蹇，來反。 In James Legge's 1882 translation: “The third NINE, undivided, shows its subject advancing, (but only) to (greater) difficulties. He remains stationary, and returns (to his former associates).”
Which hexagram does line 3 change hexagram 39 into?
Changing only line 3 of hexagram 39 (蹇, “Limping”) gives hexagram 8 — 比 (bǐ, “Grouping”). 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.