同人

Hexagram 13: Fellowship → Hexagram 41: Decrease

同人
Fellowship
Heaven / Fire
Decrease
Mountain / Lake
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4, 5).

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 4

九四 乘其墉。弗克攻。吉。

chéngmounting
one's
yōngbattlement
but not
capable of
gōngto attack
promising

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。

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.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramHeaven MountainThe Creative → Keeping Still
Lower TrigramFire LakeThe Clinging → The Joyous

Yilin Verse

梅李冬實,國多寇賊;亂擾並作,王不能制。

Plum and apricot bear fruit in winter; the state swarms with bandits. Turmoil erupts on every side; the king cannot control it.

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

Commentary

Heaven and fire form Fellowship, but nature's calendar has gone awry. Plum and pear trees bear fruit in winter — an unnatural inversion of the seasons. Bandits and raiders multiply throughout the state; disorder erupts on every side, and the king cannot maintain control. When trees fruit out of season, the human world mirrors that disorder: moral and political calendars have lost their rhythm. From Fellowship to Decrease, the transformation strips away the pretense of order. Mountain above the lake in Decrease, the noble man restrains anger and curbs desire. The realm described here has lost all restraint — its fellowship corrupted into collective lawlessness. What should decrease — chaos, greed, banditry — instead multiplies unchecked.

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