坤 → 革
Hexagram 2: The Receptive → Hexagram 49: Revolution
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 5).
Line 1
初六 履霜堅冰至。
Six at the beginning means: When there is hoarfrost underfoot, Solid ice is not far off.
Line 3
六三 含章可貞。或從王事。无成有終。
Six in the third place means: Hidden lines. One is able to remain persevering. If by chance you are in the service of a king, Seek not works, but bring to completion.
Line 4
六四 括囊。无咎无譽。
Six in the fourth place means: A tied-up sack. No blame, no praise.
Line 5
六五 黃裳。元吉。
Six in the fifth place means: A yellow lower garment brings supreme good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
螟蟲為賊，害我五穀。中霤空虛，家無所食。
Crop-eating insects are the bandits; they harm my five grains. The household altar stands empty; the family has nothing to eat.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth upon earth yields to lake above fire — Revolution. Pest insects become thieves, destroying the five grains. The hearth stands empty at the center of the home; the family has nothing to eat. Lake and fire, the image of Ge, represent revolution — the two elements destroy each other, signaling the need for radical change. The verse presents the conditions that demand revolution: crop failure under pestilence, the larder stripped bare, the household unable to sustain itself. From the Receptive to Revolution, the earth that should produce is consumed by parasites. When the agricultural foundation collapses, the old order can no longer stand. Ge's revolution arises not from ambition but from necessity — when the crops fail entirely, the system that produced them must be overthrown and rebuilt.
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