大過 → 訟
Hexagram 28: Great Exceeding → Hexagram 6: Conflict
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 3, 6).
Line 3
九三 棟橈。凶。
Nine in the third place means: The ridgepole sags to the breaking point. Misfortune.
Line 6
上六 過涉滅頂。凶。无咎。
Six at the top means: One must go through the water. It goes over one's head. Misfortune. No blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
秉鉞執殳，挑戰先驅。不從元帥，敗破為憂。
Grasping battle-axe and spear, he charges forth as vanguard. Not heeding the commander; defeat and ruin are his worry.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Lake over wind gives way to heaven and water in opposition — Conflict. A warrior brandishes his battle-axe and lance, charging ahead as vanguard and challenger. But he does not obey the commander-in-chief, and his reckless advance ends in defeat and worry. The verse is a military cautionary tale: individual valor without coordinated command produces disaster, not glory. The weapons are impressive but the chain of command is broken. From Great Exceeding to Conflict, the overburdened beam snaps into opposing forces — heaven above, water below, each moving in its own direction. The insubordinate warrior embodies this dissonance: personal excess of force, disconnected from the structure that should direct it, guarantees mutual destruction rather than victory.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store