履 → 比
Hexagram 10: Treading → Hexagram 8: Holding Together
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4, 6).
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 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.
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
爭訟相倍，和氣不處；陰陽俱否，穀風母子。
Litigation doubles the discord; harmonious qi cannot dwell. Yin and yang both stagnate; the Valley Wind separates mother and child.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven above the lake demands harmony between high and low, but here litigation doubles and harmonious energy departs. Yin and yang both stagnate — the verse invokes the Shijing ode 'Gu Feng' (Valley Wind), a lament of a wife abandoned after years of shared hardship, cast out like a mother torn from her children. The reference to 'Gu Feng mother and child' points to severed domestic bonds: a household where trust has collapsed. From Treading to Holding Together, the transformation reveals the cost of broken conduct. Water upon earth gathers people together, but only when mutual trust is restored. Where discord has driven people apart, reunion requires rebuilding loyalty from the ground up.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store