坎 → 困
Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water → Hexagram 47: Oppression
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 4).
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
山沒丘浮，陸為水魚，燕雀無巢，民無室廬。
Floodwater over the rooftops — houses drift. Clothes hang from treetops, uncollected. Chickens and dogs crowd onto hilltops fighting for inches of ground — in all four directions, the fields have become islands.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon water, the flood overwhelms everything. Mountains are submerged and hills float like islands; dry land becomes a realm for fish. Swallows and sparrows lose their nests, and the common people have no houses to shelter in. The original verse compresses total inundation into four stark lines: the inversion of land and water, the displacement of every creature from its proper habitat. From The Abysmal to Oppression, the lake has lost its water — drought within flood, emptiness within excess. The paradox is precise: total flooding creates total deprivation. When water is everywhere, its life-giving function ceases, and what should nourish instead destroys. The people must stake their lives on their convictions to endure.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store