Hexagram 2: The Receptive → Hexagram 57: The Gentle Wind

The Receptive
Earth / Earth
The Gentle Wind
Wind / Wind
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 5, 6).

Line 2

六二 直方大。不習无不利。

zhístraightforward
fāngsquare
complete
without
practice
without
doubt
worthwhile

Six in the second place means: Straight, square, great. Without purpose, Yet nothing remains unfurthered.

Line 3

六三 含章可貞。或從王事。无成有終。

hánrestrain
zhāngdisplay
suited
zhēnpersistence
huòsomeone
cóngpursuing
wángsovereign
shìaffairs
no
chéngachievement
yǒuhas
zhōngclosure

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 5

六五 黃裳。元吉。

huánggolden
chángdress
yuánmost
promising

Six in the fifth place means: A yellow lower garment brings supreme good fortune.

Line 6

上六 龍戰于野。其血玄黃。

lóngdragons
zhànat war
in
wilds
their
xuèblood
xuánindigo
huánggolden

Six at the top means: Dragons fight in the meadow. Their blood is black and yellow.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramEarth WindThe Receptive → The Gentle
Lower TrigramEarth WindThe Receptive → The Gentle

Yilin Verse

白駒生芻,猗猗盛姝。赫喧君子,樂以忘憂。

The white colt grazes on fresh grass, lush and luxuriant. Radiant and splendid, the noble man; joyful, he forgets his cares.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Earth upon earth yields to doubled wind — the Gentle. A white colt feeds on fresh grass, lovely and flourishing. The radiant gentleman takes pleasure and forgets his cares. This alludes to the Shijing ode 'Bai Ju' ('White Colt'): 'That dazzling white colt feeds on the young shoots in my field' — a poem about a worthy guest one wishes to detain. The white colt symbolizes the talented visitor nourished by one's hospitality. Doubled wind, the image of Xun, represents gentle penetration — influence that enters without force. From the Receptive to the Gentle, the earth's nurturing grass becomes the medium through which subtle bonds are formed. The colt stays because the pasture is good; the gentleman lingers because the welcome is genuine. Xun's power lies in what it offers, not what it demands.

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