Hexagram 63, Jì Jì (After Completion): Line 3
既济卦九三 · 水火既济 · 中文版
九三:高宗伐鬼方,三年克之,小人勿用。
The line (Legge)
The third NINE, undivided, (suggests the case of) K?o ?ung, who attacked the Demon region, but was three years in subduing it. Small men should not be employed (in such enterprises).
Small Image commentary
'He was three years in subduing it:' - enough to make him weary.
象曰:三年克之,惫也。
In plain words
The High Ancestor attacks the Devil Country and conquers it after three years; petty people must not be used. The Devil Country was a people to the northwest of the Shang. The third line is strong and correct; long after completion it still fights a great war, winning but exhausted. The Small Image says three years to conquer means weariness.
Applying it to your situation
If things are already going well and you want to take on one more hard struggle, this line suggests counting the cost. Is this struggle worth three years of your effort?
Position
A solid (yang) line in the third place, which is a yang (odd) place, so it is in its proper place. Its partner is line 6; one is yin and the other yang, so they respond to each other.
If this line moves
With this line moving alone, Jì Jì changes into Hexagram 3 Zhūn (Difficulty at the Beginning). The Jiaoshi Yilin verse for this change (Chinese): 焦氏易林·既济之屯.
The hexagram
Hexagram 63 Jì Jì (After Completion). The Judgment: Ji Ji intimates progress and success in small matters. There will be advantage in being firm and correct. There has been good fortune in the beginning; there may be disorder in the end.
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English text: James Legge, The Yi King (Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16, 1882), public domain, as transcribed by the Chinese Text Project. Chinese: the received text. Offered for study and reflection, not as prediction. Plain-English readings and position notes by this site.