否 → 大壯
Hexagram 12: Standstill → Hexagram 34: Great Power
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 5, 6).
Line 1
初六 拔茅茹。以其彙。貞吉。亨。
Six at the beginning means: When ribbon grass is pulled up, the sod comes with it. Each according to his kind. Perseverance brings good fortune and success.
Line 2
六二 包承。小人吉。大人否。亨。
Six in the second place means: They bear and endure; This means good fortune for inferior people. The standstill serves to help the great man to attain success.
Line 3
六三 包羞。
Six in the third place means: They bear shame.
Line 5
九五 休否。大人吉。其亡其亡。繫于苞桑。
Nine in the fifth place means: Standstill is giving way. Good fortune for the great man. "What if it should fail, what if it should fail?" In this way he ties it to a cluster of mulberry shoots.
Line 6
上九 傾否。先否後喜。
Nine at the top means: The standstill comes to an end. First standstill, then good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
太乙駕騮，從天上求；徵我叔季，封為魯侯。
The Great Unity rides a red steed, seeking from heaven above. He summons our youngest sons and enfeoffs them as Marquis of Lu.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven and earth stand sealed, yet Taiyi rides a dark bay horse, descending from heaven above. He summons the youngest uncle and enfeoffs him as Lord of Lu. Taiyi, the Supreme One, was the highest celestial deity in Han cosmology; his descent by horse evokes the dragon-horse omens of sage-kings receiving heaven's mandate. The enfeoffment of Lu recalls the Duke of Zhou, whose son Boqin received the fief because the Duke himself remained at court to serve as regent. From Standstill to Great Power, Pi's blocked heaven breaks open with thunder roaring above — irresistible force unleashed. The celestial ride and the conferral of lordship embody Da Zhuang's surging yang: heaven's authority crashes through stagnation to establish legitimate power.
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