蠱 → 噬嗑
Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed → Hexagram 21: Biting Through
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4).
Line 1
初六 幹父之蠱。有子。考无咎。厲終吉。
Six in the beginning means: Setting right what has been spoiled by the father. If there is a son, No blame rests upon the departed father. Danger. In the end good fortune.
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 4
六四 裕父之蠱。往見吝。
Six in the fourth place means: Tolerating what has been spoiled by the father. In continuing one sees humiliation.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
公孫駕驪，載遊東齊；延陵悅產，遺季紵衣。
Lord Gongsun drives his black horses, traveling east to Qi; Yanling admired Chan, and left him a gift of linen robes.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind beneath the mountain carries travelers east, and the transformation erupts as lightning and thunder — Biting Through, the hexagram of judicial clarity. A nobleman drives black horses, journeying to play in eastern Qi. Yanling — Ji Zha of Wu, the prince renowned for integrity — admires a man's character and presents him with a linen garment. According to tradition, Ji Zha traveled among the states as a diplomatic envoy, forming bonds through gifts and music rather than force. His gift of the simple zhu-cloth robe embodied sincerity over ostentation. From Work on the Decayed to Biting Through, the corrupted order requires decisive action tempered by virtue. Lightning illuminates what needs judging; thunder enforces the verdict — but the true model is Ji Zha's gift: justice delivered with grace.
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