隨 → 坤
Hexagram 17: Following → Hexagram 2: The Receptive
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5).
Line 1
初九 官有渝。貞吉。出門交有功。
Nine at the beginning means: The standard is changing. Perseverance brings good fortune. To go out of the door in company Produces deeds.
Line 4
九四 隨有獲。貞凶。有孚在道以明。何咎。
Nine in the fourth place means: Following creates success. Perseverance brings misfortune. To go one's way with sincerity brings clarity. How could there be blame in this?
Line 5
九五 孚于嘉。吉。
Nine in the fifth place means: Sincere in the good. Good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
唐虞相輔,鳥獸喜舞;安樂無事,國家富有。
Tang and Yu assisted each other; birds and beasts danced with joy. Peaceful and without incident, the state grew rich.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder rests within the lake as all beings follow in harmony. Yao and Shun govern together, and under their shared rule even birds and beasts dance with joy. The realm knows neither anxiety nor strife; the state overflows with abundance. This verse invokes the golden age of the sage-kings Tang (Yao) and Yu (Shun), whose benevolent co-regency is the Chinese archetype of perfect governance. When ruler and minister are aligned in virtue, prosperity arises without effort. From Following to the Receptive, the dynamic of willing obedience transforms into earth's boundless capacity to receive and sustain — the ideal polity where the people follow naturally and the land bears fruit of its own accord.
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