乾 → 益
Hexagram 1: The Creative → Hexagram 42: Increase
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4).
Line 2
九二 見龍在田。利見大人。
Nine in the second place means: Dragon appearing in the field. It furthers one to see the great man.
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
公孫駕驪,載聘東齊。延陵說產,遺季紵衣。
Lord Gongsun drives black horses, bearing betrothal gifts east to Qi. Yanling speaks of his estate and leaves Jizi a ramie robe.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
A lord harnesses dark horses to carry betrothal gifts east to Qi, while Yanling's Ji Zha, visiting Zheng, admires Zichan's character and presents him with a fine ramie robe. According to the Zuo Zhuan, Ji Zha of Wu toured the states evaluating their governance and music; in Zheng, he and Zichan exchanged gifts as tokens of mutual respect between worthy statesmen. From Creative to Increase, wind and thunder reinforce each other — seeing virtue, one follows; recognizing faults, one corrects. The verse embodies Yi's spirit: diplomatic exchange that enriches both parties. The betrothal gifts and the gifted robe are not transactions but investments in relationship, each act of generosity amplifying the other's capacity.
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