乾 → 蒙
Hexagram 1: The Creative → Hexagram 4: Youthful Folly
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 5).
Line 1
初九 潛龍勿用。
Nine at the beginning means: Hidden dragon. Do not act.
Line 3
九三 君子終日乾乾。夕惕若厲。无咎。
Nine in the third place means: All day long the superior man is creatively active. At nightfall his mind is still beset with cares. Danger. No blame.
Line 4
九四 或躍在淵。无咎。
Nine in the fourth place means: Wavering flight over the depths. No blame.
Line 5
九五 飛龍在天。利見大人。
Nine in the fifth place means: Flying dragon in the heavens. It furthers one to see the great man.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
鴶鵴鳲鳩，專一無尤。君子是則，長受嘉福。
The cuckoo and the turtledove, devoted and without fault. The noble man takes this as his model and long receives fine blessings.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
The cuckoo and the turtledove — birds renowned in the Shijing for devotion and constancy. The turtledove feeds its young equally, never favoring one over another, an image the Book of Songs uses for impartial nurture. The verse declares: take these birds as your model, remain single-minded and blameless, and lasting good fortune follows. From Creative to Youthful Folly, heaven's driving force meets the spring emerging beneath the mountain. Gen's stillness over Kan's flowing water suggests the mentor who channels raw energy patiently. The constancy of the cuckoo embodies this: not forceful instruction but steady, even-handed guidance that shapes youthful potential without breaking it.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store