謙 → 家人
Hexagram 15: Modesty → Hexagram 37: The Family
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 5, 6).
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 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.
Line 6
上六 鳴謙。利用行師。征邑國。
Six at the top means: Modesty that comes to expression. It is favorable to set armies marching To chastise one's own city and one's country.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
恭寬信敏，功加四海；辟去不祥，喜來從母。
Respectful, generous, trustworthy, and quick; merit extends across the four seas. Warding off the inauspicious; joy comes, following the mother.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth holds the mountain in modesty, and the verse names the Confucian cardinal virtues: respectful, generous, trustworthy, and diligent — 恭寬信敏. These four virtues extend their benefit across the four seas, dispelling misfortune and bringing joy home to the mother. The phrase echoes the Analerta, where Confucius names these as the marks of benevolence. From Modesty to The Family, wind emerges from fire — words have substance, actions have constancy. The Family hexagram describes how inner cultivation radiates outward through the household to the world. The verse enacts this precisely: personal virtue practiced with constancy generates blessings that reach the four seas and return as filial joy. Modesty's buried virtue becomes The Family's radiating warmth.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store