噬嗑 → 困
Hexagram 21: Biting Through → Hexagram 47: Oppression
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 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 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 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
二女寶珠，誤鄭大夫；君父無禮，自為作笑。
Two women bearing pearls deceived the grandee of Zheng; lord and father lost propriety -- bringing laughter upon themselves.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire and thunder enforce the law, and here the law is mocked by foolishness. Two women and their precious pearls mislead a Zheng grandee. The lord and father acts without propriety, making himself a laughingstock. The verse likely alludes to a Zheng court scandal involving diplomatic impropriety — perhaps the incident of Prince Zihua, who attempted to use his father's diplomatic gifts for personal advancement and brought disgrace upon the house. The 'two women' with pearls may be bribes or seductions that compromised an official. From Biting Through to Oppression, the lake drains dry above the water. The grandee who should enforce propriety instead becomes oppressed by his own disgrace.
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