噬嗑 → 大有
Hexagram 21: Biting Through → Hexagram 14: Great Possession
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 3).
Line 2
六二 噬膚滅鼻。无咎。
Six in the second place means: Bites through tender meat, So that his nose disappears. No blame.
Line 3
六三 噬腊肉。遇毒。小吝。无咎。
Six in the third place means: Bites on old dried meat And strikes on something poisonous. Slight humiliation. No blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
國多忌諱，大人恆畏；結口無患，可以長存。
The kingdom is full of taboos; the great man lives in constant dread. Seal the mouth and incur no trouble -- thus one may long endure.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire and thunder enforce the law, yet this verse counsels silence rather than action. The state is riddled with taboos, and even great men live in constant dread. The only survival strategy is to seal one's mouth shut — keep silent, and no calamity will follow. This way one may endure. The verse captures the atmosphere of a court where a single wrong word means death, recalling the terror of despotic reigns where courtiers walk on knife-edges. From Biting Through to Great Possession, fire blazes above heaven in supreme abundance. Yet the verse warns that under such blazing scrutiny, self-preservation requires restraint. The brightest fire illuminates every fault.
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