謙 → 小畜
Hexagram 15: Modesty → Hexagram 9: Small Taming
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 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 2
六二 鳴謙。貞吉。
Six in the second place means: Modesty that comes to expression. Perseverance brings 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
江河淮海，天之都市；商人受福，國家富有。
The Yangtze, the Yellow, the Huai, the sea: heaven's great marketplace. Merchants receive blessings; the state grows rich and full.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth holds the mountain in quiet abundance. Rivers, the Huai, and the sea — heaven's great thoroughfares — gather all the world's commerce at their confluences. Merchants receive blessings; the nation grows rich. The Four Great Rivers (江河淮海) represent the arterial network of ancient China's sacred geography, and here they serve as conduits of prosperity rather than barriers. From Modesty to Small Taming, wind courses above heaven, gently restraining its vast power through cultural refinement. The verse embodies this precisely: wealth flows naturally along the rivers when modesty and good governance channel it. Small Taming's gentle wind does not dam the rivers but guides them; likewise, the modest ruler does not seize wealth but lets it accumulate through trade and trust.
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