无妄 → 蹇
Hexagram 25: Innocence → Hexagram 39: Obstruction
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 6).
Line 1
初九 无妄。往吉。
Nine at the beginning means: Innocent behavior brings good fortune.
Line 3
六三 无妄之災。或繫之牛。行人之得。邑人之災。
Six in the third place means: Undeserved misfortune. The cow that was tethered by someone Is the wanderer's gain, the citizen's loss.
Line 4
九四 可貞。无咎。
Nine in the fourth place means: He who can be persevering Remains without blame.
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
三桓子孫，世秉國權。爵世上卿，富於周公。
The three Huan clan's descendants; for generations they hold the realm's power. Enfeoffed as senior ministers; richer than the Duke of Zhou.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
The descendants of the Three Huan clans hold state power generation after generation. Their rank is perpetually that of senior minister; their wealth surpasses even the Duke of Zhou's. The Three Huan — Jisun, Shusun, and Mengsun — were the three noble families descended from Duke Huan of Lu who gradually usurped the power of the ducal house throughout the Spring and Autumn period. From Innocence to Obstruction, the transformation exposes how hereditary privilege calcifies into systemic blockage. Jian's image of water atop the mountain shows a path that cannot be traversed. The Three Huan's entrenched wealth and rank create precisely this obstruction — they block the channels through which legitimate authority should flow, turning the state's innocence into perpetual paralysis.
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