同人

Hexagram 13: Fellowship → Hexagram 40: Deliverance

同人
Fellowship
Heaven / Fire
Deliverance
Thunder / Water
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 5, 6).

Line 1

初九 同人于門。无咎。

tóngfellowship with
rénothers
at
méngate
no
jiùblame

Nine at the beginning means: Fellowship with men at the gate. No blame.

Line 2

六二 同人于宗。吝。

tóngfellowship with
rénothers
only in
zōngclan
lìnembarrassment

Six in the second place means: Fellowship with men in the clan. Humiliation.

Line 3

九三 伏戎于莽。升其高陵。三歲不興。

cache
róngweapons
in
mǎngunderbrush
shēngclimbing up
one's
gāohighest
línghills
sānthree
suìyears
of
xīngexuberance

Nine in the third place means: He hides weapons in the thicket; He climbs the high hill in front of it. For three years he does not rise up.

Line 5

九五 同人先號咷而後笑。大師克相遇。

tóngfellowship with
rénothers
xiānbegins
háowailing
táoweeping
érand then
hòufollows with
xiàolaughter
great
shīarmies
can manage
xiāngeach other
to entertain

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。

tóngfellowship with
rénothers
in
jiāoouter districts
no
huǐto regret

Nine at the top means: Fellowship with men in the meadow. No remorse.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramHeaven ThunderThe Creative → The Arousing
Lower TrigramFire WaterThe Clinging → The Deep

Yilin Verse

百里南行,雖徵復明;去虞適秦,為穆國卿。

A hundred miles southward; though demoted, one's brilliance returns. Leaving Yu for Qin; one becomes the chief minister of Duke Mu.

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

Commentary

Heaven and fire form Fellowship, and here a servant's long journey leads to a minister's seat. Baili Xi travels a hundred li southward — though the road darkens, brightness returns. Leaving the fallen state of Yu, he arrives in Qin to become Duke Mu's chief minister. According to tradition, Baili Xi was captured in war and sold into slavery for five ram skins before Duke Mu recognized his talent. From Fellowship to Deliverance, the transformation resonates perfectly. Thunder and rain in Deliverance release what has been trapped. Baili Xi's liberation from bondage into statecraft enacts Deliverance's central dynamic: the obstruction dissolves, and what was imprisoned finds its proper function at last.

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