无妄 → 復
Hexagram 25: Innocence → Hexagram 24: Return
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 4, 5, 6).
Line 4
九四 可貞。无咎。
Nine in the fourth place means: He who can be persevering Remains without blame.
Line 5
九五 无妄之疾。勿藥有喜。
Nine in the fifth place means: Use no medicine in an illness Incurred through no fault of your own. It will pass of itself.
Line 6
上九 无妄。行有眚。无攸利。
Nine at the top means: Innocent action brings misfortune. Nothing furthers.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
羿張烏號，彀射天狼。鐘鼓不鳴，將軍振旅。趙國雄勇。鬭死滎陽。
Yi draws the Wu Hao bow; he takes aim at the Celestial Wolf. Bells and drums fall silent; the general marshals his troops. Zhao's kingdom, bold and brave; they fight and die at Xingyang.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Archer Yi draws the Wuhao bow and takes aim at Sirius, the celestial wolf. Bells and drums fall silent as the general musters his forces for return. Then a sudden shift: Zhao's warriors, fierce and brave, fight to the death at Yingyang. This likely references the Chu-Han wars, when the region around Yingyang saw some of the bloodiest fighting between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu's forces. From Innocence to Return, the transformation juxtaposes cosmic archery with mortal carnage. Fu's image of thunder within the earth signals the first stirring of renewal after total darkness — the winter solstice moment. The warriors who die at Yingyang will not see the return, but the cycle turns regardless.
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