Hexagram 31 Line 6: 上六
Position: Line 6 (Upper Trigram)上六 —Yin ⚋ (Broken)Register: blamelessFamous Line
Classical Chinese Text
上六 咸其輔頰舌。
咸其輔頰舌
咸xiánmoving
其qíin
輔fǔmaxilla
頰jiájawbones: and mandible
舌shéand tongue
Line Commentary
Influence in the jaws, cheeks, tongue. All talk, nothing real behind it. The most superficial approach to influence. Results are necessarily insignificant. Neither good nor bad fortune mentioned—just irrelevance.
Commentary
Influence in the jaws, cheeks, and tongue. All talk, nothing real behind it—the most superficial way to influence others. Such mere tongue-wagging produces necessarily insignificant results. Neither good nor bad fortune is mentioned; the line offers only irrelevance. Words without substance move no one.
When This Line Changes
If Line 6 changes, Hexagram 31 Xian (Influence) transforms into Hexagram 33 Dun (Retreat).
Parent Hexagram
Influence
Xian咸 (31)
Lake (兌) over Mountain (艮)
Upper Trigram: ☱ Lake | Lower Trigram: ☶ Mountain