无妄 → 漸
Hexagram 25: Innocence → Hexagram 53: Development
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4).
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
戎狄蹲踞，無禮貪叨。非吾族類，君子攸去。
The Rong and Di squat on their heels; without rites, greedy and grasping. Not of our kind; the noble man departs.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
The barbarian Rong and Di squat on their haunches, lacking propriety and grasping for what is not theirs. They are not of our kind — the gentleman departs from them. This verse draws on the Zuo Zhuan's famous dictum: 'Those of a different race will surely have different hearts.' From Innocence to Development, the transformation traces withdrawal from the unrefined toward gradual cultivation. Jian's image of trees growing on the mountain represents slow, organic development rooted in proper ground. The gentleman's departure is not flight but discernment — recognizing that genuine development requires compatible soil. When innocence encounters those who refuse civilization's basic courtesies, the wise response is not confrontation but measured, deliberate distance.
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