頤 → 晉
Hexagram 27: Nourishment → Hexagram 35: Progress
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 4).
Line 1
初九 舍爾靈龜。觀我朶頤。凶。
Nine at the beginning means: You let your magic tortoise go, And look at me with the corners of your mouth drooping. Misfortune.
Line 4
六四 顛頤。吉。虎視眈眈。其欲逐逐。无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: Turning to the summit For provision of nourishment Brings good fortune. Spying about with sharp eyes Like a tiger with insatiable craving. No blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
兩虎爭鬭，股瘡無處。不成仇讎，行解欲去。
Two tigers battle fiercely; thighs wounded, no part unscathed. They do not become true enemies; the struggle dissolves, both wish to part.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Mountain over thunder shifts to fire emerging from the earth — Progress, the sun rising above the horizon. Two tigers fight each other, their flanks torn and wounded with nowhere unscathed. Yet the feud does not harden into lasting enmity; the conflict dissolves, and both move to depart. The twin tigers locked in combat are evenly matched forces tearing themselves apart, yet the verse grants an unexpected resolution. From Nourishment to Progress, the transformation offers sunrise after bloodshed: the fire that rises above the earth illuminates a path forward even from mutual destruction. The battlers, having exhausted their aggression, step apart. Progress here means not victory but the wisdom to walk away, letting the light of a new day replace the darkness of the fight.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store