乾 → 鼎
Hexagram 1: The Creative → Hexagram 50: The Cauldron
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 5).
Line 1
初九 潛龍勿用。
Nine at the beginning means: Hidden dragon. Do not act.
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
弱足刖跟，不利出門。市賈不利，折亡為患。
Weak feet, heels maimed; not fit to go out the gate. Market trade brings no profit; loss and ruin become the affliction.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Weak legs, mutilated heels — it is unwise to leave the house. The marketplace brings no profit; losses and ruin become the norm. From Creative to The Cauldron, fire above wind should refine and transform raw material into nourishment. Yet this verse shows a vessel that cannot stand: the legs that should support the cauldron are crippled. The image echoes the Ding hexagram's own nine-four warning: 'The cauldron breaks its foot, overturning the duke's food.' When the supporting structure fails, nothing can be cooked, no transformation accomplished. The merchant's losses mirror the spilled contents — investment without the capacity to sustain it simply pours away.
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