Yin, Yang, and the Order of the Six Lines

A hexagram uses only two symbols

The Book of Changes has sixty-four hexagrams, but every one of them is built from just two symbols. One unbroken horizontal stroke is a yang line. A stroke broken into two halves is a yin line. Stack six of them and you have a hexagram.

Here yin and yang are simply the names of two states, like open and closed, or moving and still. Neither is good or bad in itself. Everything in the later lessons — combinations, change, which text to read — is built on these two symbols.

Build a hexagram yourself

A hexagram has six lines, counted from the bottom up: the lowest is the first line, then the second, third, fourth and fifth, and the top one is the sixth. A yang line is drawn as one solid stroke, a yin line as two segments with a gap. Change the symbol in a position and the name changes with it — the position comes first, the line type second, with nine for yang and six for yin. So the bottom line is called “nine in the first place” when yang and “six in the first place” when yin.

Why the counting starts at the bottom

By tradition a hexagram reads like something unfolding from start to finish: the bottom is the very beginning, the top is the point where it has run its course. So the first line sits at the bottom and the sixth line at the top.

Each position has a fixed name. The bottom one is called "first", the top one is called "top", and the four in between are simply second, third, fourth and fifth. You will use these names every time you read a line statement later on.

The direction is not an arbitrary choice; it is an assumption built into the whole method. Looking a hexagram up, finding the right line statement, deciding which line is changing — every step takes for granted that you started from the bottom. Count the other way and you end up with a different hexagram, and a different passage to read.

A useful habit: whenever you meet a hexagram diagram, touch the lowest stroke first, say "this is the first line" to yourself, and count upward from there.

Position plus line type makes the full name

Classical texts never say "the first yang line". They write the line type as a number: a yang line is a "nine", a yin line is a "six". The position name comes first, the line type second.

So a yang line at the bottom is "nine in the first place", and a yin line at the bottom is "six in the first place". A yang line in the third position is "nine in the third place"; a yin line in the fifth is "six in the fifth place". Only the topmost line reverses the order: "nine at the top" or "six at the top".

This is not a separate theory, only a fixed convention. Once you recognise it, you can open any edition of the original text and follow it.

Try it yourself

This lesson has a hands-on exercise. It is built into the Traditional Chinese lesson page, where you can try it straight away: open the interactive exercise.

How to draw and read yang and yin lines

A yang line is one unbroken horizontal stroke, written ⚊. A yin line is two segments with a gap in the middle, written ⚋. The whole I Ching system uses only these two symbols; there is no third. When drawing, both kinds are the same width and spacing, and the only way to tell them apart is whether the middle is broken.

There is a separate way of saying them: a yang line is called “nine” and a yin line “six”. So if the first line is yang, you do not say “first yang” but “nine in the first place”; if the sixth line is yin, you say “six at the top”. These names come from the numbers produced when casting in ancient times; lesson 4 returns to what six, seven, eight and nine each mean.

Here yin and yang are simply names for two states, with no good or bad attached. Yang does not mean fortunate and yin does not mean unfortunate, and whether a hexagram has more yang or more yin lines does not decide whether it is a good one. Reading yin and yang straight as good and bad is the most common misunderstanding, and the one that takes longest to correct.

Why we count from the bottom up: a hexagram describes a process

The six lines are always counted from the lowest one: first, second, third, fourth, fifth, top. On paper the first line is at the very bottom and the sixth at the very top, the opposite of the way we normally read an article from top to bottom.

The reason is that a hexagram is treated as a situation from beginning to end. The bottom is the very start, before anything has unfolded; moving up is gradual progress; the top is where things reach their limit and are about to close or turn over. Think of a plant growing from the soil: the roots are below and the tip is above.

Once the order is fixed in your mind, many readings become intuitive: when a text speaks of the “first” line it is usually about getting started, when things are still unclear; when it speaks of the “top” line it is usually about a matter already fully done, where adding more would overshoot. Position is itself a message, as important as whether the line is yin or yang.

Two more positions are worth noting early: the second and fifth lines sit at the centre of the lower and upper halves, and are traditionally seen as the steadier positions; the third and fourth lines sit at the border between the two halves and are often read as transitions, a less settled stage. These are reading habits, not hard rules.

The three places beginners most often get stuck

Counting the six lines from the top down. That turns “nine in the first place” into the topmost line, and every later step, such as looking up the judgment or matching the moving lines, ends up misaligned. After building a hexagram, confirming once that the bottom line is the first line is the cheapest check there is.

Remembering only yin and yang and forgetting position. A line’s full identity is its position plus its yin or yang, and neither can be left out. Saying only “a yang line” will not find any line statement; saying “nine in the fifth place” will.

Rushing to look up whether it is lucky or unlucky. This lesson only covers recognising the symbols and counting the positions, with no judgment about outcomes yet. Once the symbols feel steady, the later lessons on the judgment text and moving lines will go much more easily.

Quick Quiz