Hexagram 16: Enthusiasm → Hexagram 24: Return

Enthusiasm
Thunder / Earth
Return
Earth / Thunder
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 4).

Line 1

初六 鳴豫。凶。

míngproclaiming
readiness
xiōngdisappointing

Six at the beginning means: Enthusiasm that expresses itself Brings misfortune.

Line 4

九四 由豫。大有得。勿疑。朋盍簪。

yóuat the source
readiness
there is with much
yǒuto have
to gain
do not
hesitation
péngcompanions
gather
zānas

Nine in the fourth place means: The source of enthusiasm. He achieves great things. Doubt not. You gather friends around you As a hair clasp gathers the hair.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramThunder EarthThe Arousing → The Receptive
Lower TrigramEarth ThunderThe Receptive → The Arousing

Yilin Verse

羊驚馬走,上下揮擾;鼓音不絕,頃公奔敗。

Sheep startled, horses bolting, turmoil above and below; drums sound without ceasing -- Duke Qing flees in defeat.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Thunder bursts from the earth as sheep bolt and horses stampede. Chaos reigns above and below; war drums pound without ceasing. Duke Qing of Qi flees in defeat. This alludes to the Battle of An in 589 BC, where Jin forces routed the Qi army. Duke Qing had invaded Lu, provoking a Jin-led coalition response. During the rout, the Duke switched places with his spearman to evade capture, and Jin's chariots pursued the Qi army around the hills in circles. From Enthusiasm to Return, the transformation is fitting: thunder rests within the earth, the first yang line reappearing after total yin. The duke's humiliating defeat strips away all pretense, and what returns is the bare starting point — chastened, reduced, but alive.

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