謙 → 咸
Hexagram 15: Modesty → Hexagram 31: Influence
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 4, 5).
Line 4
六四 无不利撝謙。
Six in the fourth place means: Nothing that would not further modesty In movement.
Line 5
六五 不富以其鄰。利用侵伐。无不利。
Six in the fifth place means: No boasting of wealth before one's neighbor. It is favorable to attack with force. Nothing that would not further.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
齊魯爭言,戰於龍門;搆怨致禍,三歲不安。
Qi and Lu trade harsh words; they battle at Longmen. Nursing grudges, inviting disaster; three years know no peace.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth holds the mountain still, but Qi and Lu are locked in bitter dispute, battling at Dragon Gate. Grudges breed catastrophe, and for three years there is no peace. Dragon Gate — the gorge carved by Yu — here serves as a contested battleground rather than a site of transformation. The verse inverts its usual symbolism: instead of fish leaping to become dragons, armies clash at the pass. From Modesty to Influence, the lake rests upon the mountain, the image of receptive sensitivity. Yet the verse shows Influence's shadow: when mutual sensitivity becomes mutual grievance, every provocation resonates and amplifies into prolonged conflict. Modesty's restraint, when abandoned by both parties, yields to the echo chamber of escalating resentment.
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