坎 → 節
Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water → Hexagram 60: Limitation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 1).
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
三河俱合，水怒踴躍，壞我王屋，民飢於食。
Three rivers merge together; the waters rage and surge. They destroy the king's hall; the people go hungry for food.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon water, three rivers converge in fury. The waters merge and surge upward in violent agitation, destroying the royal residence and leaving the people starving. The verse is a flood catastrophe at the grandest scale: not one river but three combining their force to overwhelm the seat of power itself. From The Abysmal to Limitation, water pools above the lake — the natural image of measure and restraint. Yet this verse shows what happens when limitation fails: waters that should be regulated by banks and channels instead combine without restraint, and the very structure meant to contain them (the royal house) is swept away. Limitation exists precisely because unchecked water destroys everything.
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