Hexagram 10: Treading → Hexagram 56: The Wanderer

Treading
Heaven / Lake
The Wanderer
Mountain / Fire
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4, 5).

Line 2

九二 履道坦坦。幽人貞吉。

tread
dàoway
tǎnlevel
tǎnsmooth
yōuobscure
rénone's
zhēnpersistence
promising

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。

miǎoone-eyed
néngcan
shìto see
lame
néngcan
to walk
treading
tiger
wěitail
diéthe bitten
rénone's
xiōngmisfortune
military
rénone
wéiacts
in the place of
great
jūnsuperior

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。

treading
tiger
wěitail
pleading
pleading
zhōngwill end
promise

Nine in the fourth place means: He treads on the tail of the tiger. Caution and circumspection Lead ultimately to good fortune.

Line 5

九五 夬履。貞厲。

guàidetermined
tread
zhēnpersistence
stressful

Nine in the fifth place means: Resolute conduct. Perseverance with awareness of danger.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramHeaven MountainThe Creative → Keeping Still
Lower TrigramLake FireThe Joyous → The Clinging

Yilin Verse

烏子鵲雛,常與母居;願慕群侶,不離其巢。

Crow chicks and magpie nestlings, ever dwelling with their mother. Yearning for flock and companions; they do not leave the nest.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Heaven above the lake, and young birds stay close to home. Crow chicks and magpie fledglings dwell constantly with their mother, longing for their flock's companionship and never straying from the nest. The image is entirely domestic: the young are not yet ready to leave, and instinct keeps them where warmth and nourishment are certain. From Treading to the Wanderer, fire flickers on the mountaintop — a transient, exposed flame with no permanent abode. The contrast is poignant: the fledglings' refusal to leave the nest is the emotional reverse of the Wanderer's rootless condition. The verse suggests that sometimes the wisest treading is staying still, honoring bonds before the world scatters you.

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