履 → 革
Hexagram 10: Treading → Hexagram 49: Revolution
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 6).
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 3
六三 眇能視。跛能履。履虎尾。咥人凶。武人為于大君。
Six in the third place means: A one-eyed man is able to see, A lame man is able to tread. He treads on the tail of the tiger. The tiger bites the man. Misfortune. Thus does a warrior act on behalf of his great prince.
Line 6
上九 視履考祥。其旋元吉。
Nine at the top means: Look to your conduct and weigh the favorable signs. When everything is fulfilled, supreme good fortune comes.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
譌言妄語，傳相詿誤；道左失迹，不知所處。
False words and reckless speech; rumors mislead one another. Off the road, the tracks are lost; not knowing where one stands.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven above the lake, but the path is obscured by lies. False words and reckless speech spread deception from person to person, each passing the error forward. On the roadside one loses all tracks and no longer knows where one stands. The verse diagnoses a social contagion: rumors and misinformation that compound until orientation itself is lost. From Treading to Revolution, fire burns within the lake — two irreconcilable forces that demand transformation. The cure for accumulated falsehood is radical change: stripping away the distorted narrative and starting fresh. Revolution corrects the calendar and clarifies the seasons — restoring truth to a world drowned in fabrication.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store