乾 → 既濟
Hexagram 1: The Creative → Hexagram 63: After Completion
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 4, 6).
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 4
九四 或躍在淵。无咎。
Nine in the fourth place means: Wavering flight over the depths. No blame.
Line 6
上九 亢龍有悔。
Nine at the top means: Arrogant dragon will have cause to repent.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
梗生荊山，命制輸班。袍衣剝脫，夏熱冬寒。飢餓枯槁，莫人莫憐。
Thorny shrubs grow on Jing Mountain; destined to labor under Shuban. Robes and garments stripped away; summer heat, winter cold. Starving and withered; none show pity.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
A thorn tree grows on Mount Jing, where craftsmanship is measured against Lu Ban's skill. Yet the robes are stripped away; summer brings no relief from heat, winter no protection from cold. Hungry and withered, no one shows pity. Mount Jing is where Bian He discovered his jade — a place associated with unrecognized value. Lu Ban is the supreme craftsman. From Creative to After Completion, water sits above fire in perfect but precarious balance. The verse shows the paradox of completion: surrounded by references to supreme value and skill, the person nevertheless starves. Ji Ji warns that completion invites complacency — the very perfection of the arrangement makes its fragility invisible. All elements are in place, yet no warmth, no sustenance, no compassion reaches the one in need.
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