蠱 → 小畜
Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed → Hexagram 9: Small Taming
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 5).
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 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
初憂後喜，與福為市；八佾列陳，飲御嘉友。
Dark clouds press the city then suddenly the sun breaks through; golden light pours over the banquet platform. Amid silk and bamboo music, cups are raised — laughter fills the hall, a hundred worries scatter.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind beneath the mountain first brings worry, but the transformation carries it upward to wind riding above heaven — the gentle restraint of Small Taming. The original verse reads: 'First worry, then joy — fortune comes as if to market. Eight rows of dancers arrayed; drinking among honored friends.' The eight-row dance (八佾) was the Son of Heaven's ritual prerogative, suggesting a celebration of the highest order. Initial anxiety dissolves into ceremonial festivity and companionship. From Work on the Decayed to Small Taming, the pattern traces how troubled beginnings yield to refined cultivation. Wind above heaven gently restrains creative force, channeling raw energy into cultural refinement — the banquet after the crisis, beauty emerging from anxiety.
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