坎 → 同人
Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water → Hexagram 13: Fellowship
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 6).
Line 1
初六 習坎。入于坎窞。凶。
Six at the beginning means: Repetition of the Abysmal. In the abyss one falls into a pit. Misfortune.
Line 2
九二 坎有險。求小得。
Nine in the second place means: The abyss is dangerous. One should strive to attain small things only.
Line 3
六三 來之坎坎。險且枕。入于坎窞。勿用。
Six in the third place means: Forward and backward, abyss on abyss. In danger like this, pause at first and wait, Otherwise you will fall into a pit in the abyss. Do not act this way.
Line 4
六四 樽酒簋貳。用缶。納約自牖。終无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: A jug of wine, a bowl of rice with it; Earthen vessels Simply handed in through the Window. There is certainly no blame in this.
Line 6
上六 係用徽纆。寘于叢棘。三歲不得。凶。
Six at the top means: Bound with cords and ropes, Shut in between thorn-hedged prison walls: For three years one does not find the way. Misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
束帛玄圭,君以布德。伊呂百里,應聘輔國。
Bundled silk and dark jade tablets; the lord spreads his virtue thereby. Yi Yin, Lu Shang, Baili Xi -- answering the summons, they aided the state.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon water, peril opens the way for worthy ministers. Bundles of silk and dark jade tablets are sent forth — the ceremonial gifts by which a ruler spreads virtue and summons talent. Yi Yin, Lu Shang, and Baili Xi all answered such calls, rising from obscurity to serve as pillars of state. The verse names the three archetypes of the recruited sage-minister: the cook, the fisherman, and the slave bought for five ram skins. From The Abysmal to Fellowship, water's danger transforms into fire under heaven, illuminating shared purpose. A ruler who sends gifts of sincerity attracts worthy companions, and Fellowship's image — classifying by kind — finds its human expression in recognizing talent across barriers of class.
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