The first line of the Qian hexagram is first “nine”, which represents the initial stage of development. According to the explanation in the Book of Changes, this line represents the yang qi beginning to grow, but not yet fully manifest.
The hexagram line has the line statement “Submerged dragon, do not act”, which means during the incubation period, the dragon does not need to show itself, and should remain quiet and not act recklessly. This line tells us that in the initial stage of life, we should not show ourselves, but should accumulate knowledge and experience, and wait for the right opportunity to fully manifest.
At the same time, the explanation in the xianguan (the commentaries on the hexagrams) is: “The dragon that is hidden cannot show its talents”, because the first line is in a lower position, so it is difficult to press forward. This also means that in the early stage of life, we may encounter some setbacks and difficulties, and need to maintain a humble and indomitable spirit, and constantly strive to improve our abilities and qualities.
In conclusion, the first line of the Qian hexagram represents the initial stage of life. We need to remain low-key, accumulate knowledge and experience, hide our light, and wait for the right opportunity to fully manifest ourselves. At the same time, we also need to have patience and perseverance, constantly overcome setbacks and difficulties, and constantly improve our abilities and qualities.
qian gua refers to 乾 gua
gua refers to hexagram
yang qi refers to Male Energy (in the context of Yin-Yang Theory)
“yao” is a fundamental concept representing the long and short horizontal lines that form the八卦 (Eight Trigrams). These lines, called “yao,” change to indicate different configurations of the trigrams, which in turn symbolize various natural phenomena and their interactions.
In the Yi Jing, “yao” are classified as either yang (represented by a broken line, often translated as “nine”) or yin (represented by a solid line, often translated as “six”).
the first “nine” ，the first line being a yang Yao (阳爻)