乾 → 比
Hexagram 1: The Creative → Hexagram 8: Holding Together
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 6).
Line 1
初九 潛龍勿用。
Nine at the beginning means: Hidden dragon. Do not act.
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.
Line 6
上九 亢龍有悔。
Nine at the top means: Arrogant dragon will have cause to repent.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
中夜狗吠，盜在墻外。神明祐助，銷散皆去。
In the middle of the night the dog barks; thieves lurk beyond the wall. By the spirits’ aid and protection, all scatter and depart.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Deep in the night a dog barks — thieves lurk beyond the wall. Yet divine protection intervenes, scattering and dispersing them all. From Creative to Holding Together, heaven's power finds expression as water resting upon the earth, the image of the ancient kings establishing their feudal network. The verse embodies Bi's mechanism: solidarity and mutual protection. The dog is the faithful sentinel; the divine aid represents the communal trust that makes walls effective. Thieves flee not because one household is strong, but because the bond between neighbors — the very meaning of 'holding together' — transforms individual vulnerability into collective security.
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