大畜明夷

Hexagram 26: Great Taming → Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light

大畜
Great Taming
Mountain / Heaven
明夷
Darkening of the Light
Earth / Fire
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 6).

Line 2

九二 輿說輹。

輿the carriage
shuōis relieved
its axle strut

Nine in the second place means: The axletrees are taken from the wagon.

Line 6

上九 何天之衢。亨。

what
tiānheaven
zhī...'s
way
hēngthrough fulfillment

Nine at the top means: One attains the way of heaven. Success.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramMountain EarthKeeping Still → The Receptive
Lower TrigramHeaven FireThe Creative → The Clinging

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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