坎 → 剝
Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water → Hexagram 23: Splitting Apart
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 5).
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 5
九五 坎不盈。祗既平。无咎。
Nine in the fifth place means: The abyss is not filled to overflowing, It is filled only to the rim. No blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
延陵適魯，觀樂太史。車轔白顛，知秦興起，卒兼其國，一統為主。
A star falls in the west; light rises in the east. The old dynasty nears its end — a new lord is destined to rise.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon water, peril reveals the shape of destiny. Ji Zha of Yanling traveled to Lu and observed the ritual music with the Grand Historian, discerning each state's fate from its melodies. Meanwhile, the rumble of chariots on white-headed roads signaled Qin's inexorable rise. In the end, Qin swallowed all states and unified the realm under one ruler. Ji Zha's musical discernment is legendary: from the Zuo Zhuan, his evaluations of each state's odes foretold their fortunes. From The Abysmal to Splitting Apart, the mountain erodes upon the earth — the old order peels away layer by layer. Ji Zha heard the dissolution in the music long before it arrived in history.
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