剝 → 師
Hexagram 23: Splitting Apart → Hexagram 7: The Army
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 3).
Line 2
六二 剝牀以辨。蔑貞凶。
Six in the second place means: The bed is split at the edge. Those who persevere are destroyed. Misfortune.
Line 3
六三 剝之无咎。
Six in the third place means: He splits with them. No blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
蹇驢不才，俊驥失時。罷於沙丘，筋力勞盡。
A lame donkey, lacking talent; a fine steed, its time lost. Spent upon the sand dunes; sinew and strength exhausted.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Mountain upon earth erodes into water hidden within the earth — the disciplined mass of the Army. A lame donkey has no talent, and even a fine warhorse loses its moment. Both collapse at Shaqiu, sinews spent and strength exhausted. Shaqiu carries historical resonance: it is where the First Emperor of Qin died on his inspection tour, and where the Shang tyrant Zhou built his decadent 'sand mound' terrace. The verse pairs two beasts — one worthless, one excellent — and shows both failing at the same place. Neither talent nor the lack of it matters when timing is wrong and the body is broken. From Splitting Apart to the Army, the mountain's decay demands disciplined collective response, but here both steed and donkey have been ground down before the army can even assemble.
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