噬嗑 → 解
Hexagram 21: Biting Through → Hexagram 40: Deliverance
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 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 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 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
剋身己整，逢禹巡狩；賜我玄珪，蒙受福祉。
Restraining the self, setting all in order, one meets Yu on his royal tour; bestowed a dark jade tablet -- one receives blessing and grace.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire and thunder enforce the law, and here proper self-discipline meets divine reward. One restrains and rectifies oneself, and on the road encounters Yu the Great on his royal inspection tour. The great flood-tamer bestows a dark jade tablet — the xuangui, symbol of Heaven's mandate and territorial investiture. Blessings rain down. Yu's inspection tours (巡狩) were the model for later imperial circuits, where the sage-king confirmed the virtue of local rulers. The dark jade tablet authenticated Heaven's trust. From Biting Through to Deliverance, thunder and rain break forth together. Self-correction meets cosmic release: one who has already bitten through personal failings finds that deliverance arrives not as escape but as recognition.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store