觀 → 泰
Hexagram 20: Contemplation → Hexagram 11: Peace
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 5, 6).
Line 1
初六 童觀。小人无咎。君子吝。
Six at the beginning means: Boy like contemplation. For an inferior man, no blame. For a superior man, humiliation.
Line 2
六二 闚觀。利女貞。
Six in the second place means: Contemplation through the crack of the door. Furthering for the perseverance of a woman.
Line 3
六三 觀我生進退。
Six in the third place means: Contemplation of my life Decides the choice Between advance and retreat.
Line 5
九五 觀我生。君子无咎。
Nine in the fifth place means: Contemplation of my life. The superior man is without blame.
Line 6
上九 觀其生。君子无咎。
Nine at the top means: Contemplation of his life. The superior man is without blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
黃池之盟，吳晉爭強；勾踐為患，夷國不安。
At the covenant of Huangchi, Wu and Jin vied for dominance; Goujian became the scourge -- the foreign state knew no peace.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind over earth observes the grand theater of interstate rivalry. At the Conference of Huangchi in 482 BC, Wu and Jin contended fiercely for hegemony — King Fuchai of Wu and Duke Ding of Jin quarreled over precedence while their armies bristled. But far to the south, Goujian of Yue, who had spent years sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall, seized the moment to strike Wu's undefended heartland. The state that strained for glory abroad lost everything at home. Earth below heaven — the image of Peace — shows heaven and earth in proper exchange. From Contemplation to Peace, the transformation reveals the irony: true peace requires watching one's own foundations, not chasing prestige at distant conferences.
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