噬嗑 → 睽
Hexagram 21: Biting Through → Hexagram 38: Opposition
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 2).
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
鄰不可顧，而求玉女；身多疾癩，誰當媚者。
One cannot even regard the neighbor, yet seeks a jade-like maiden; the body is covered with sores and scabs -- who would find it pleasing?
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire and thunder enforce the law, and this verse delivers a bitter verdict on misplaced desire. One cannot even attend to the neighbor, yet reaches for a jade maiden. The body is covered in sores and scabs — who would find such a person attractive? The verse is cruelly frank: the suitor's condition makes the pursuit absurd. Ignoring what is near and accessible while grasping at the unattainable, the afflicted person compounds disability with delusion. From Biting Through to Opposition, fire rises while the lake sinks — two forces pulling apart. The transformation embodies estrangement: the suitor and the desired are fundamentally mismatched, their natures diverging like flame and water, making union impossible.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store