Line 6 of

Hexagram 41: 損 sǔn

“Diminishing” — King Wen #41 · 上九

Line 6 上九

弗損益之,無咎。貞吉,利有攸往,得臣無家。

The topmost NINE, undivided, shows its subject giving increase to others without taking from himself. There will be no error. With firm correctness there will be good fortune. There will be advantage in every movement that shall be made. He will find ministers more than can be counted by their clans.

— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1882 (public domain)

The Changed Hexagram 之卦

Line 6 changing turns hexagram 41 into䷒ Hexagram 19: 臨 lín — “Nearing”Read line 6 of hexagram 19 →

Reading This Line

In the received Zhouyi text, line 6 of hexagram 41 is a strong (yang) line occupying the top line, where the theme of the figure has run its course. The classical line statement — 弗損益之,無咎。貞吉,利有攸往,得臣無家。 — 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 41 Line 6

What does line 6 of hexagram 41 say?

The received text reads: 弗損益之,無咎。貞吉,利有攸往,得臣無家。 In James Legge's 1882 translation: “The topmost NINE, undivided, shows its subject giving increase to others without taking from himself. There will be no error. With firm correctness there will be good fortune. There will be advantage in every movement that shall be made. He will find ministers more than can be counted by their clans.”

Which hexagram does line 6 change hexagram 41 into?

Changing only line 6 of hexagram 41 (損, “Diminishing”) 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.