Hexagram 20, Guān (Contemplation): Line 5
观卦九五 · 风地观 · 中文版
九五:观我生,君子无咎。
The line (Legge)
The fifth NINE, undivided, shows its subject contemplating his own life(-course). A superior man, he will (thus) fall into no error.
Small Image commentary
'He contemplates his own life(-course):' - he should (for this purpose) contemplate (the condition of) the people.
象曰:观我生,观民也。
In plain words
Looking at one's own life: the noble person is without fault. The fifth line is central and correct in the place of honour and is watched by all; to judge how well it is doing, it looks at the condition of the people. The Small Image says looking at oneself means looking at the people.
Applying it to your situation
If you are the one others watch, this line suggests checking yourself by how the people around you are doing. What does their condition say about how you act?
Position
A solid (yang) line in the fifth place, which is a yang (odd) place, so it is in its proper place. It holds the centre of the upper trigram. Its partner is line 2; one is yin and the other yang, so they respond to each other.
If this line moves
With this line moving alone, Guān changes into Hexagram 23 Bō (Splitting Apart). The Jiaoshi Yilin verse for this change (Chinese): 焦氏易林·观之剥.
The hexagram
Hexagram 20 Guān (Contemplation). The Judgment: Guan shows (how he whom it represents should be like) the worshipper who has washed his hands, but not (yet) presented his offerings - with sincerity and an appearance of dignity (commanding reverent regard).
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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.