臨 → 噬嗑
Hexagram 19: Approach → Hexagram 21: Biting Through
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 4, 6).
Line 2
九二 咸臨吉。无不利。
Nine in the second place means: Joint approach. Good fortune. Everything furthers.
Line 4
六四 至臨。无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: Complete approach. No blame.
Line 6
上六 敦臨。吉。无咎。
Six at the top means: Greathearted approach. Good fortune. No blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
欽敬昊天，曆象星辰；宣授民時，陰陽和調。
Reverently honoring great heaven, charting the stars and constellations; proclaiming the seasons to the people -- yin and yang in harmony.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth above the lake meets fire and thunder — Biting Through's decisive justice. Reverently honoring great Heaven, one charts the stars and constellations, then promulgates the calendar to the people so that all may know the proper seasons. Yin and yang find harmony and balance. The verse describes the sage-ruler's most fundamental duty: observing celestial patterns and transmitting them as civil order. This echoes Emperor Yao's commission in the Book of Documents, commanding Xi and He to 'reverently accord with august Heaven, computing and delineating the sun, moon, and stars.' From Approach to Biting Through, the elder's nurturing oversight becomes precise adjudication. Lightning and thunder clarify what is clouded: the calendar bites through confusion, separating proper time from improper, ensuring that human activity aligns with cosmic rhythm.
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