噬嗑 → 屯
Hexagram 21: Biting Through → Hexagram 3: Difficulty at the Beginning
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 4, 5, 6).
Line 4
九四 噬乾胏。得金矢。利艱貞。吉。
Nine in the fourth place means: Bites on dried gristly meat. Receives metal arrows. It furthers one to be mindful of difficulties And to be persevering. Good fortune.
Line 5
六五 噬乾肉。得黃金。貞厲。无咎。
Six in the fifth place means: Bites on dried lean meat. Receives yellow gold. Perseveringly aware of danger. No blame.
Line 6
上九 何校滅耳。凶。
Nine at the top means: His neck is fastened in the wooden cangue, So that his ears disappear. Misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
破亡之虛，神祇哀憂；進往無光，留止有慶。
A ruined and desolate waste; the spirits grieve and sorrow. To advance brings no light -- to stay and halt brings good fortune.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire and thunder once bit through obstacles, but now only a ruined settlement remains — walls crumbled, spirits in mourning. To advance into this desolation brings no light; only by halting and holding position can any good fortune be preserved. The 'ruined site' (破亡之虛) echoes the classical trope of visiting fallen capitals, where ghosts grieve over what was lost. The verse warns against recklessness in the face of devastation. From Biting Through to Difficulty at the Beginning, the message is sobering: clouds and thunder gather but nothing yet emerges. One who rushes forward into the wreckage will find only darkness; one who stays and weaves order from the chaos will find cause for celebration.
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