Hexagram 36 Line 6: 上六
Ming Yi —明夷 —Darkening of the Light
Position: Line 6 (Upper Trigram)上六 —Yin ⚋ (Broken)Register: blamelessFamous Line
Classical Chinese Text
上六 不明晦。初登于天。後入于地。
不明晦。初登于天。後入于地
不bùnot
明míngbrightness
晦huìbut darkness
初chūat first
登dēngto rise
于yúinto
天tiānthe heavens
後hòuand
入rùto enter
于yúinto
地dìthe earth
Line Commentary
Not light but darkness. First climbing to heaven, then plunging into earth's depths. The dark power reaches its climax, wounding all who side with good and light. But evil must fall at the moment it has wholly overcome good—consuming the energy to which it owed its duration.
Commentary
Not light but darkness. First climbing to heaven, then plunging into earth's depths. The dark power reaches its climax—but evil must fall at the very moment it has wholly overcome good, consuming the energy to which it owed its duration.
When This Line Changes
If Line 6 changes, Hexagram 36 Ming Yi (Darkening of the Light) transforms into Hexagram 22 Bi (Grace).
Parent Hexagram
Darkening of the Light
Ming Yi明夷 (36)
Earth (坤) over Fire (離)
Upper Trigram: ☷ Earth | Lower Trigram: ☲ Fire