謙 → 萃
Hexagram 15: Modesty → Hexagram 45: Gathering Together
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 3, 4, 5).
Line 3
九三 勞謙君子。有終吉。
Nine in the third place means: A superior man of modesty and merit Carries things to conclusion. 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.
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
水壞我里，東流為海；龜鳧讙囂，不睹我家。
Water breaches our village, flowing east to the sea. Turtles and ducks cry in clamor; they cannot see our home.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth holds the mountain, but floodwater has destroyed the village, streaming eastward into the sea. Turtles and wild ducks clamor noisily where homes once stood — 'I cannot see my house.' The verse presents total displacement: the home is literally underwater, replaced by aquatic wildlife. From Modesty to Gathering, the lake rises upon the earth, and the noble one prepares weapons against the unexpected. The verse shows why such preparation is essential: when the gathering waters overwhelm rather than nourish, they sweep away everything familiar. Modesty's earth, which should have held the mountain steady, here lies submerged. Gathering's warning — 'guard against the unforeseen' — echoes through the ruins of the flooded village.
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