履 → 噬嗑
Hexagram 10: Treading → Hexagram 21: Biting Through
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 5).
Line 2
九二 履道坦坦。幽人貞吉。
Nine in the second place means: Treading a smooth, level course. The perseverance of a dark man Brings good fortune.
Line 5
九五 夬履。貞厲。
Nine in the fifth place means: Resolute conduct. Perseverance with awareness of danger.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
桑之將落，殞其黃葉；失勢傾側，而無所立。
The mulberry tree about to shed, dropping its yellow leaves. Losing its position, tilting and falling; with nothing left to stand upon.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven above the lake, but the mulberry tree is about to shed its leaves. Its yellow foliage falls away, and the tree loses its footing, tilting without support. The mulberry's decline echoes the Shijing ode 'Sang Zhong,' where the mulberry grove marks both fertility and impermanence. Here the tree represents authority or position: once the leaves drop, the trunk stands naked and unstable, unable to maintain itself. From Treading to Biting Through, thunder and lightning combine to enforce judgment. The verse suggests that when one's position crumbles, what follows is not gentle decline but the sharp teeth of consequence — the law bites through pretense.
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