Hexagram 48 · line 3
The Well
井Jǐng
The well is cleared but no one drinks, bringing sorrow to my heart. Its water can be drawn. If the king is discerning, all share its blessing.
Line statement
九三
井渫不食，為我心惻。可用汲，王明，並受其福。
The well is cleared but no one drinks, bringing sorrow to my heart. Its water can be drawn. If the king is discerning, all share its blessing.
The well is usable at Line 3, but its water is not being taken. The conditional appeal to a discerning king concerns making that benefit available. Changing the line gives Water above Water, Hexagram 29, contrasting the well’s available benefit with repeated danger.
Computed position
How this place works
- Trigram position
- inner · boundary
Line 3 is the boundary of the inner trigram.
- Polarity and place
- yang in an odd place: aligned
Its yang polarity matches the traditional odd-place convention.
- Correspondence
- Line 6: responsive
Its counterpart is Line 6; the two have opposite polarities and can be read as responsive.
One line changes