蠱 → 觀
Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed → Hexagram 20: Contemplation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 5).
Line 2
九二 幹母之蠱。不可貞。
Nine in the second place means: Setting right what has been spoiled by the mother. One must not be too persevering.
Line 3
九三 幹父之蠱。小有悔。无大咎。
Nine in the third place means: Setting right what has been spoiled by the father. There will be a little remorse. No great blame.
Line 5
六五 幹父之蠱。用譽。
Six in the fifth place means: Setting right what has been spoiled by the father. One meets with praise.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
蠆室蜂戶，螫我手足；不可進取，為吾害咎。
A chamber of scorpions, a house of wasps; they sting my hands and feet. One cannot press forward -- this brings me harm and fault.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind beneath the mountain encounters danger, and the transformation opens into wind sweeping over the earth — the broad Contemplation of the sage-king. A room of scorpions, a doorway of wasps — they sting hands and feet. One cannot advance; to do so would bring harm and blame. The verse is a stark warning: the corrupted space is now infested with venomous creatures. Entry is forbidden; even observation requires distance. From Work on the Decayed to Contemplation, the lesson is clear: some forms of decay cannot be fought directly but must be surveyed from above. Wind over earth sees everything without touching; the sage-king observes the people and sets teaching accordingly, reforming by example rather than by entering the poisoned chamber.
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