Hexagram 63 Ji Ji - Complete Guide Part 2: The Six Lines and the Stages of After Completion
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BY NICOLE LAU
Hexagram 63 Ji Ji - Complete Guide Part 2: The Six Lines and the Stages of After Completion
The six lines of Ji Ji describe the perilous physics of maintaining a completed, perfect system against the relentless erosion of entropy. The narrative moves from dragging the wheels of your carriage and getting your tail wet as you exit the river, through recovering lost status without chasing it, fighting a brutal three-year war against barbarian decay, plugging the tiny leaks in the boat with rags, the profound moral contrast between the slaughtered ox and the simple spring sacrifice, culminating in the fatal blindness of dipping one's head underwater at the summit. It is an extraordinary operational manual for holding the peak.
Line 1 — Nine at the Bottom: Dragging the Brakes and Wetting the Tail
He brakes his wheels. He gets his tail in the water. No blame.
The first line represents the critical moment of crossing the threshold into completion. The person is a strong, solid yang line at the very base of the fire, eager to keep speeding forward.
The I Ching commands: "Brakes his wheels (Yi Qi Lun 曳其轮)." You have just crossed the dangerous river; your carriage is coming ashore. If you keep the accelerator floored, you will crash into the rocks on the riverbank! You must immediately slam on the brakes.
Like a little fox scrambling onto the dry bank, your tail gets wet ("gets his tail in the water"). You suffer a tiny, superficial inconvenience, but you have successfully stopped your forward momentum before causing a crash. "No blame." The first rule of completion: know how to stop celebrating and hit the brakes.
- Stage: Crossing the finish line and immediately applying the brakes
- Action: Halt your expansion; accept minor inconveniences; do not rush into new ventures
- Wisdom: No blame — braking the wheels upon arrival prevents crashing on the shore
Line 2 — Six in the Second Place: The Lost Veil on the Seventh Day
The woman loses the curtain of her carriage. Do not run after it; on the seventh day you will get it.
The second line describes a sudden, embarrassing loss of status or privacy. The "curtain of the carriage" was the decorative veil that protected an aristocratic woman's modesty and dignity when traveling in public. To lose the curtain means to be suddenly exposed, criticized, or stripped of recognition.
The person of Line 2 is central, yielding, and correct; they have done nothing wrong. The natural, panicked instinct is to chase after the lost curtain—to argue with critics, defend your reputation, and scramble to recover your status. The I Ching commands: "Do not run after it." When a system is newly completed, petty social turbulence is inevitable. Do not degrade yourself by chasing after superficial approval. Maintain your spotless inner dignity. "On the seventh day" (when the natural weekly cycle completes), your reputation and status will be restored automatically. Sincerity outlasts gossip.
- Stage: Temporary loss of status, recognition, or privacy in a completed system
- Action: Do not scramble or beg for validation; maintain quiet, unmoving dignity
- Wisdom: The seventh day — what is rightfully yours returns naturally without desperate chasing
Line 3 — Nine in the Third Place: The Three-Year War in the Devil's Country
The Illustrious Ancestor disciplines the Devil's Country. After three years he conquers it. Inferior people must not be employed.
The third line describes a monumental historical struggle: King Wu Ding of the Shang dynasty ("The Illustrious Ancestor") waging a brutal, three-year military campaign against the nomadic Gui Fang tribes ("The Devil's Country") on the northern frontier.
Line 3 sits at the peak of the lower trigram (Fire), about to enter the dark abyss of Water. It reveals that consolidating a completed empire or organization requires immense, exhausting labor. Eliminating deep, entrenched systemic corruption takes "three full years" of relentless discipline.
The line adds a severe executive warning: "Inferior people must not be employed." Once the war is won and the barbarian chaos is subdued, do not reward the petty mercenaries or political opportunists who fought for you with administrative power! If you put "inferior people" in charge of peacetime governance, they will corrupt the empire from within. Use warriors to fight the war; use statesmen to build the peace.
- Stage: The exhausting, multi-year labor required to secure and consolidate peace
- Action: Complete the cleanup of corruption thoroughly; never grant administrative power to opportunists
- Wisdom: Exhaustion and victory — securing a completed order requires unyielding discipline
Line 4 — Six in the Fourth Place: Rags for the Leaking Boat
The finest clothes turn to rags. Be on guard all day long.
The fourth line describes the reality of entropy inside a functioning system. The person has crossed into the upper trigram of Water (Kan). The ship is sailing smoothly across the lake, and the passengers are dressed in their "finest clothes" (celebrating their high status and wealth).
Suddenly, water begins to seep through a seam in the hull! The boat is leaking! What does the wise sailor do? They don't panic, but they don't ignore it either. They take their expensive, fine clothes, rip them into strips, and stuff them into the crack as caulking rags (Ru 襦) to stop the water!
The warning is absolute: "Be on guard all day long (Zhong Ri Jie 终日戒)." When an organization reaches peak success, tiny leaks—accounting discrepancies, customer complaints, security vulnerabilities—inevitably appear. You must be willing to sacrifice luxury and status (fine clothes) to plug the leaks immediately. Constant, humble vigilance is the price of keeping the ship afloat.
- Stage: The appearance of the first small leaks of entropy in a successful system
- Action: Sacrifice luxury to fix structural flaws immediately; maintain all-day vigilance
- Wisdom: Be on guard all day — plugging small leaks with rags saves the ship from sinking
Line 5 — Nine in the Fifth Place: The Slaughtered Ox vs. The Simple Offering
The neighbor in the east who slaughters an ox does not attain as much real happiness as the neighbor in the west with his small offering.
The fifth line, the ruler's position, presents one of the most profound spiritual and economic contrasts in ancient literature. The "neighbor in the east" represents the decadent, wealthy Shang dynasty; the "neighbor in the west" represents the rising, humble Zhou dynasty.
The eastern neighbor slaughters a massive, expensive ox for a theatrical sacrifice. It is loud, bloody, extravagant, and ostentatious. But their heart is cynical, arrogant, and corrupt; the sacrifice is merely an empty PR stunt. The western neighbor is poor; they offer only a simple, humble basket of grain (the "small offering" of Hexagram 41). But their heart is 100% pure, reverent, and sincere.
The I Ching declares: Heaven accepts the small offering and rejects the slaughtered ox! In times of completion, do not succumb to corporate bloat, extravagant galas, and lavish theatrical displays. Sincerity and humble utility bring genuine, lasting happiness (Shi Shou Qi Fu 实受其福). God prefers a clean heart over a slaughtered bull.
- Stage: The temptation toward hollow extravagance at the peak of power
- Action: Choose humble, authentic substance over expensive theatrical display
- Wisdom: Real happiness — Heaven rewards the simple offering of the heart, not the slaughtered ox of vanity
Line 6 — Six at the Top: Wetting the Head in the Water
He gets his head in the water. Danger.
The top line represents the tragic, final collapse of After Completion: the arrival of "Zhong Luan" (the disorder at the end). The person has reached the absolute ceiling of the hexagram. In Line 1, the wise fox got only its tail wet because it was cautious. But Line 6 is arrogant, reckless, and drunk on its own past success.
They attempt to plunge backward into the river or push blindly forward when the crossing is already over. The water rises over their neck and covers their head: "He gets his head in the water." They are completely submerged, suffocated, and drowned by the very waters they conquered three lines ago! Acute danger. When completion is carried to its arrogant extreme, the system inevitably sinks into the abyss. The game is over.
- Stage: Arrogant complacency leading to total submersion and drowning
- Action: (Warning) Do not look back; do not plunge back into the flood; recognize the end
- Wisdom: Danger — when the head goes underwater, the completed order collapses into the abyss
The Complete Journey: A Summary
- Line 1: Brakes the wheels — halting momentum and getting only the tail wet; no blame.
- Line 2: The lost carriage curtain — refusing to chase status; restored on the seventh day.
- Line 3: The three-year campaign — securing peace through discipline, but barring opportunists.
- Line 4: Rags in the leaking boat — sacrificing luxury to plug leaks; all-day vigilance.
- Line 5: The simple offering vs. the slaughtered ox — humble sincerity trumps extravagant display.
- Line 6: Wetting the head — arrogant complacency drowns the victor in the abyss; danger.
What Is Next in This Series
- Part 1: The Symbol and Structure
- Part 2 (This Article): The Six Lines — Complete Line-by-Line Commentary
- Part 3: Divination Guide — How to Read Ji Ji in Practice
- Part 4: Philosophy — The Perils of Perfection and the Law of Entropy
- Part 5: Practical Applications — Post-Merger Integration, Quality Assurance, Maintenance
- Part 6: Modern Interpretations — Thermodynamic Homeostasis, S-Curves, Self-Organized Criticality
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