履 → 漸
Hexagram 10: Treading → Hexagram 53: Development
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4).
Line 1
初九 素履往。无咎。
Nine at the beginning means: Simple conduct. Progress without blame.
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 4
九四 履虎尾。愬愬終吉。
Nine in the fourth place means: He treads on the tail of the tiger. Caution and circumspection Lead ultimately to good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
黃帝紫雲，聖且神明；光見福祥，告我无殃。
The Yellow Emperor amid purple clouds; sagely and divinely luminous. His light reveals auspicious omens; proclaiming that I shall suffer no harm.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven above the lake, and purple clouds trail behind the Yellow Emperor's celestial journey. The sage is holy and divinely luminous; auspicious light reveals blessings and announces freedom from calamity. According to tradition, when the Yellow Emperor ascended to heaven, purple clouds gathered in his wake — a sign of supreme cosmic harmony. From Treading to Development, wind blows over the mountain as trees grow gradually upward. The transformation from careful earthly conduct to slow, organic growth mirrors the Yellow Emperor's legacy: his civilizing work did not flash and vanish but developed steadily across generations, like trees climbing a mountainside toward the light.
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