頤 → 復
Hexagram 27: Nourishment → Hexagram 24: Return
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 6).
Line 6
上九 由頤。厲吉。利涉大川。
Nine at the top means: The source of nourishment. Awareness of danger brings good fortune. It furthers one to cross the great water.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
夏臺幽戶，文君厄處。鬼侯飲食，岐人悅喜。
The dark cell of Xiatai; where Lord Wen endures hardship. The Marquis of Gui feasts and drinks; the people of Qi rejoice.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Mountain over thunder transforms into earth over thunder — Return, the single yang stirring beneath the earth. The Xia Prison's dark cell holds the lord of Wen in adversity. The Lord of Gui provides food and drink; the people of Qi rejoice. According to the Shiji, King Zhou of Shang imprisoned the lords of Gui (also called Lord of Jiu) and the Earl of the West (King Wen) alike. The Lord of Gui was killed and his flesh made into paste, but King Wen's loyal ministers ransomed him with treasures and beauties. 'The people of Qi' — Wen's people at the foot of Mount Qi — rejoiced at his return. From Nourishment to Return, imprisonment becomes the womb of renewal: nourishment received even in a dungeon prepares the single yang for its triumphant reemergence.
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