賁 → 遯
Hexagram 22: Grace → Hexagram 33: Retreat
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5).
Line 1
初九 賁其趾。舍車而徒。
Nine at the beginning means: He lends grace to his toes, leaves the carriage, and walks.
Line 4
六四 賁如皤如。白馬翰如。匪寇婚媾。
Six in the fourth place means: Grace or simplicity? A white horse comes as if on wings. He is not a robber, He will woo at the right time.
Line 5
六五 賁于丘園。束帛戔戔。吝。終吉。
Six in the fifth place means: Grace in the hills and gardens. The roll of silk is meager and small. Humiliation, but in the end good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
析薪熾酒,使媒求婦。和合齊宋,姜子悅喜。
Red candles blaze high, reflecting off the gold screen. Drums and music in the courtyard escort the betrothal gifts. Cheers from both families echo through the lanes — the shared wedding cup warms the fragrant hall.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire beneath the mountain is a rewrite — the original verse reads: 'Splitting firewood to warm the wine, sending a matchmaker to seek a bride; harmonizing Qi and Song, the Jiang maiden is delighted.' This describes a formal betrothal: the groom's family prepares ceremonial wine, dispatches a matchmaker, and the union between two states (Qi and Song, or their ruling clans) is sealed. The 'Jiang maiden' refers to a woman of the Jiang clan — the ruling house of Qi. From Grace to Retreat, fire beneath the mountain yields to heaven above the mountain. The lavish wedding is a moment of display before withdrawal: the bride adorns herself in Grace, then retreats into the propriety of married life. The match itself is a strategic retreat — alliance through marriage rather than conflict.
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