噬嗑 → 蒙
Hexagram 21: Biting Through → Hexagram 4: Youthful Folly
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4).
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 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 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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
注斯膏澤，扞衛百毒；防以江南，虺不能螫。
Pouring rich ointment, warding off a hundred poisons; guarded by the lands south of the river, the viper cannot sting.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire and thunder administer justice, and here that protective power takes the form of healing. Rich ointments and nourishing dew are poured forth, warding off a hundred poisons. The defense is as strong as the great river's southern bank — even venomous serpents cannot sting. The verse uses medical imagery rooted in Han pharmacological thought: balms (膏澤) that both heal and shield, and the Yangtze as a natural barrier against pestilence from the south. From Biting Through to Youthful Folly, the transformation channels punitive force into nurturing protection. The mountain spring that emerges below becomes a source of purification, washing toxins away through gentle persistence rather than violent intervention.
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