謙 → 大壯
Hexagram 15: Modesty → Hexagram 34: Great Power
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4).
Line 1
初六 謙謙君子。用涉大川。吉。
Six at the beginning means: A superior man modest about his modesty May cross the great water. Good fortune.
Line 2
六二 鳴謙。貞吉。
Six in the second place means: Modesty that comes to expression. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Line 4
六四 无不利撝謙。
Six in the fourth place means: Nothing that would not further modesty In movement.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
防患備災，凶惡不來；雖困無憂，未獲安休。
Guarding against calamity, preparing for disaster; fierce evils do not come. Though beset, one has no worry; yet one has not yet found peaceful rest.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth holds the mountain in preparation. One guards against disaster and prepares for calamity, so evil does not come. Though besieged by difficulty, there is no real worry — yet full rest and ease remain beyond reach. The verse describes a state of vigilant defense: the worst is averted, but the tension of readiness persists. From Modesty to Great Power, thunder roars above heaven, the image of overwhelming force restrained by propriety. Great Power's counsel — 'the noble one does not tread where propriety forbids' — resonates with the verse's prevention ethos: strength held in check, disaster forestalled but peace not yet secured. Modesty's careful preparation becomes Great Power's disciplined restraint, effective but never comfortable.
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