大畜 → 明夷
Hexagram 26: Great Taming → Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 6).
Line 2
九二 輿說輹。
Nine in the second place means: The axletrees are taken from the wagon.
Line 6
上九 何天之衢。亨。
Nine at the top means: One attains the way of heaven. Success.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
山險難登,渭中多石。車馳轊擊,重載傷軸。載擔善躓,跌踒右足。
The mountain is steep and hard to climb; stones crowd the ford. The cart races, hubs collide; the heavy load cracks the axle. The bearer stumbles easily; he twists and injures his right foot.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven stored within the mountain sinks as fire enters the earth — Darkening of the Light. Mountain passes are steep and nearly impassable; the Wei River bed is strewn with stones. A speeding chariot smashes its axle-cap; a heavily loaded cart snaps its axle. The bearer stumbles and twists his right foot. The verse is a catalog of physical obstruction and injury — every mode of transport fails, and the body itself breaks down. From Great Taming to Darkening of the Light, the mountain's stored heaven is swallowed by the earth. Light descends into darkness; the wise ruler 'uses obscurity to preserve clarity.' The accumulated resources of Great Taming meet a world that breaks everything passing through it. Sometimes, the wisest course is not to travel at all.
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