隨 → 剝
Hexagram 17: Following → Hexagram 23: Splitting Apart
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5, 6).
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.
Line 6
上六 拘係之。乃從維之。王用亨于西山。
Six at the top means: He meets with firm allegiance And is still further bound. The king introduces him To the Western Mountain.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
甲戊己庚，隨時轉行；不失其心，得且安寧。
Jia, wu, ji, geng -- turning with the seasons; not losing one heart, one gains peace and tranquility.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder rests within the lake, and the Heavenly Stems cycle through their stations: jia, wu, ji, geng — each following the other in its appointed turn. The verse counsels following the rhythm of time without losing one's inner compass: 'Do not lose your heart, and you shall find peace and tranquility.' The Stems represent cosmological order, the rotation of days and seasons that governs all activity. From Following to Splitting Apart, the dynamic is sobering — Bo's mountain erodes upon the earth, all things stripped away. Yet the verse promises that one who keeps faith with the temporal cycle, adapting externally while holding firm internally, will remain secure even as structures crumble around them.
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