臨 → 訟
Hexagram 19: Approach → Hexagram 6: Conflict
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 咸臨貞吉。
Nine at the beginning means: Joint approach. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Line 4
六四 至臨。无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: Complete approach. No blame.
Line 5
六五 知臨。大君之宜。吉。
Six in the fifth place means: Wise approach. This is right for a great prince. Good fortune.
Line 6
上六 敦臨。吉。无咎。
Six at the top means: Greathearted approach. Good fortune. No blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
水長無船,破城壞堤;大夫從役,困于泥塗。一朝喪殞,不見少妻。
Waters rise and there is no boat; the city walls breach, the levees break. The officer goes to serve on campaign, mired in mud. In a single morning he perishes -- never again to see his young wife.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth above the lake meets heaven moving against water — the discord of Conflict. Floodwaters rise and there is no boat; levees breach and city walls crumble. A minister conscripted for distant service finds himself mired in mud, and one morning he perishes, never again seeing his young wife. The verse layers natural disaster upon personal tragedy: the same flood that destroys the city swallows the man sent to fight it. From Approach to Conflict, the lake's nurturing presence inverts into heaven and water pulling apart. What should have been protective oversight becomes a death sentence — the officer dispatched to manage the crisis is consumed by it, his domestic bonds severed permanently.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store