噬嗑 → 升
Hexagram 21: Biting Through → Hexagram 46: Pushing Upward
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 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 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 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
叔駕純騮，南至東萊；求索駒馬，道悅中止。
The younger brother drives a team of dark bays, south to Donglai; seeking colts and horses, he stops midway, pleased with the road.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire and thunder enforce the law, but this verse unfolds as a journey that halts midway. A young man harnesses pure-bay horses and drives south to Donglai, seeking fine colts and steeds. Yet along the road, pleased by what he encounters, he stops before reaching his destination. Donglai was an eastern region of Qi, known for horse markets. The verse captures the pattern of ambition diverted by satisfaction: setting out for something greater but settling for what presents itself along the way. From Biting Through to Pushing Upward, wood grows slowly within the earth — gradual ascent. The verse inverts this: the upward journey stalls because contentment replaces aspiration. Sometimes the pause is wisdom; sometimes it is missed potential.
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