泰 → 大過
Hexagram 11: Peace → Hexagram 28: Great Exceeding
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5).
Line 1
初九 拔茅茹。以其彙。征吉。
Nine at the beginning means: When ribbon grass is pulled up, the sod comes with it. Each according to his kind. Undertakings bring good fortune.
Line 4
六四 翩翩。不富以其鄰。不戒以孚。
Six in the fourth place means: He flutters down, not boasting of his wealth, Together with his neighbor, Guileless and sincere.
Line 5
六五 帝乙歸妹。以祉元吉。
Six in the fifth place means: The sovereign I Gives his daughter in marriage. This brings blessing And supreme good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
春令原宥，仁德不合；三聖攸同，周國茂興。
Spring's decree pardons and forgives; benevolent virtue is not yet joined. Three sages share one purpose; the Zhou domain flourishes greatly.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth above heaven, Peace extends clemency in springtime. Spring is the season of pardons — the ancient kings commuted sentences to align human justice with nature's renewal. Yet 'benevolent virtue does not harmonize,' suggesting the amnesty is only partially effective. The verse then names the Three Sages — traditionally identified as King Wen, King Wu, and the Duke of Zhou — whose combined virtue caused the Zhou state to flourish greatly. From Peace to Great Exceeding, the lake submerges the trees, testing the ridgepole of governance to its limit. The transformation reveals that even sagely virtue operates under structural strain: clemency works only when the beam can bear the weight.
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