臨 → 小畜
Hexagram 19: Approach → Hexagram 9: Small Taming
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 3, 5, 6).
Line 3
六三 甘臨。无攸利。既憂之。无咎。
Six in the third place means: Comfortable approach. Nothing that would further. If one is induced to grieve over it, One becomes free of 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
蔡女蕩舟,為國患憂;褒后在側,屏蔽王目。搔擾六國。
Lady Cai dallied on the boat, bringing the state to ruin; Lady Bao at his side, shielding the king eyes. Six nations thrown into turmoil.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth above the lake meets wind riding beneath heaven — the gentle restraint of Small Taming. The Lady of Cai rocks the boat, bringing worry to the state; Lady Bao stands beside the king, screening his eyes from truth. Together they throw six states into turmoil. The Lady of Cai is Cai Ji, who playfully rocked Duke Huan of Qi's boat in 657 BC; enraged, he sent her home, and Cai remarried her, triggering Qi's invasion of Cai and then Chu. Lady Bao is Bao Si, whose refusal to smile led King You of Zhou to light false beacon fires, destroying Western Zhou. From Approach to Small Taming, wind above heaven should gently restrain creative force — but here feminine influence, instead of refining power, misdirects it entirely.
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