噬嗑 → 蹇
Hexagram 21: Biting Through → Hexagram 39: Obstruction
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 履校滅趾。无咎。
Nine at the beginning means: His feet are fastened in the stocks, So that his toes disappear. 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.
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
遠視無明，不知青黃；黈纊塞耳，使君闇聾。
Gazing afar without clarity, unable to tell blue from yellow; cotton wadding blocks the ears, leaving the lord dim and deaf.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire and thunder should illuminate the law with piercing clarity, but here perception itself has been sabotaged. Gazing into the distance, one cannot make out colors — neither blue nor yellow is distinguishable. Yellow cotton plugs the ears, rendering the lord deaf and blind. The 'yellow cotton' (黈纊) refers to the ceremonial ear-pendants hung from the royal crown, originally meant as a reminder not to heed slander — but here repurposed as a symbol of willful blindness. From Biting Through to Obstruction, water pools on the mountain in impassable terrain. The ruler who cannot see or hear creates his own obstruction: justice requires perception, and a blinded judge produces only paralysis.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store