同人 → 明夷
Hexagram 13: Fellowship → Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 4, 5, 6).
Line 4
九四 乘其墉。弗克攻。吉。
Nine in the fourth place means: He climbs up on his wall; he cannot attack. Good fortune.
Line 5
九五 同人先號咷而後笑。大師克相遇。
Nine in the fifth place means: Men bound in fellowship first weep and lament, But afterward they laugh. After great struggles they succeed in meeting.
Line 6
上九 同人于郊。无悔。
Nine at the top means: Fellowship with men in the meadow. No remorse.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
大王執政，歲熟民富；國家豐有，主者有喜。
The great king governs; the harvest is rich, the people prosperous. The state has plenty; the ruler has cause for joy.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven and fire form Fellowship, and a wise ruler's governance bears tangible fruit. A great king holds power with steady hands; the harvests ripen and the people prosper. The state overflows with abundance, and the lord has cause for celebration. The verse is declarative and optimistic — no allusion, no complication, simply good governance producing material prosperity. From Fellowship to Darkening of the Light, the transformation adds an ominous undertone. Light sinks into the earth in Darkening; the noble man governs the multitude by using darkness to preserve clarity. The prosperous realm described here exists at the threshold of eclipse — its very brightness inviting the shadow. The wise ruler anticipates this and dims his display while keeping his vision sharp.
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