A Detailed Inquiry into the Most Auspicious Hexagram Lines in the Zhou Yi: From 'Yuan Ji' to 'Ji Wu Buli'

Chapter 24: Refutation of Various Views

Section 1: Refutation of the View that Qian Nine at the Fifth Place is the Most Auspicious Yao

Among the most widespread folk beliefs, Qian Hexagram's Nine at the Fifth Place ("Flying dragon in the heavens; beneficial to see the great person") is often considered the "most auspicious yao." The basis for this belief lies mainly in two points:

First, Nine at the Fifth Place is the "dragon's position," the "position of Heaven," the "emperor's position"—among the sixty-four hexagrams, the status of Qian Nine at the Fifth Place is considered the most noble and supreme.

Second, the imagery of "flying dragon in the heavens"—the dragon ascends to the heavens, like an emperor reigning over the world, commanding the four directions—this is seen as an image of supreme honor and nobility.

However, as detailed in Chapter 4 of this paper, although Qian Nine at the Fifth Place is supremely noble and honored, its yao lyric does not contain the character "Ji" (auspicious), only "beneficial to see the great person" (利见大人). Strictly according to the hierarchy of judgment levels, "Li" (beneficial) is lower than "Ji" (auspicious), and even lower than "Yuan Ji" (supremely auspicious).

Therefore, Qian Nine at the Fifth Place is the "most honored yao" among the three hundred and eighty-four, but not the "most auspicious yao." Honor and auspiciousness are two different dimensions.

This confusion arises because secular concepts often equate "honor" with "auspiciousness"—believing that high position and great power constitute the greatest auspiciousness. However, the Zhouyi's values are precisely the opposite—it considers humility and centrality to be the source of supreme auspiciousness, while honor and prominence may instead incur the disaster of "the dragon has exceeded its position and has regrets."

Section 2: Refutation of the View that Da You Nine at the Top Place is the Most Auspicious Yao

Da You Nine at the Top Place ("Heaven's help comes to him; auspiciousness without disadvantage") receives specialized interpretation in the Xici Zhuan, and its degree of auspiciousness is undoubtedly extremely high.

However, Da You Nine at the Top Place has two limitations that cannot be overlooked:

First, the Top yao is the extreme of the hexagram; its status is not high. In the six-yao system, although the Top yao symbolizes the ultimate of the hexagram, its status is inferior to the Fifth Place (position of honor) and the Second Place (central position).

Second, the auspiciousness of the Top yao is difficult to sustain. The Top yao represents the end of an affair. Even if it achieves supreme auspiciousness, this auspiciousness represents an "ultimate completion," not "continuous development." The "auspiciousness without disadvantage" of Da You Nine at the Top Place is a judgment of the result, not a sustainable state.

In contrast, Kun Six at the Fifth Place's "Yellow lower garments, supremely auspicious (Yuan Ji)" embodies a sustainable state of virtue—the virtue of centrality and humility can be constantly maintained and will not disappear due to "ultimate completion."

Section 3: Refutation of the View that Fu Nine at the First Place is the Most Auspicious Yao

Fu Nine at the First Place's "Not returning far; no great regret. Supremely auspicious (Yuan Ji)" embodies the supreme goodness of "erring and being able to correct," and its spiritual value is extremely high.

However, Fu Nine at the First Place's "Yuan Ji" has a prerequisite—it implies that one has "previously deviated from the correct path." The prerequisite for "Fu" (return) is "going" (deviating)—one must first "go" (deviate) before there can be "Fu" (return).

This implies that the "Yuan Ji" of Fu Nine at the First Place is "auspiciousness through correcting errors"—its starting point is a state of having made mistakes. Although correcting mistakes is supreme goodness, if one has never deviated from the correct path (like Kun Six at the Fifth Place's "Yellow lower garments"), wouldn't that be even more perfect$1

Of course, this question can also be understood from another perspective: In the view of the Zhouyi, is "never deviating" even possible$2 Humans are not sages; who can be without error$3 If "never deviating" is impossible, then "not returning far" is the highest state achievable in reality.

This is a profound philosophical question. This paper tends to believe: Kun Six at the Fifth Place's "Yellow lower garments" describes an "ideal state of virtue," while Fu Nine at the First Place's "not returning far" describes a "practical method of self-cultivation." The former is the "goal," while the latter is the "path."

Section 4: Refutation of the View that Qian Nine at the Third Place is the Most Auspicious Yao

The Qian hexagram is universally auspicious, and Nine at the Third Place ("Toiling humility; the gentleman has completion. Auspiciousness Ji") receives the supreme evaluation of "admired by the myriad people."

However, the judgment for Qian Nine at the Third Place is merely "Ji," not "Yuan Ji." In terms of judgment level, "Ji" is lower than "Yuan Ji."

Although the unique nature of the Qian hexagram being universally auspicious is striking, from the perspective of the auspiciousness of individual yao lyrics, Qian Nine at the Third Place cannot surpass those yao that receive the "Yuan Ji" judgment.

The greatness of the Qian hexagram lies in its "universal goodness," not in the "supreme goodness of a single yao."