坎 → 小畜
Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water → Hexagram 9: Small Taming
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 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 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 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
堯舜仁德，養賢致福。眾英積聚，國無寇賊。商人失利，來爭寶貨。
Yao and Shun, benevolent in virtue, nurtured the worthy and brought blessings. Many talents gathered; the state knew no bandits or thieves. Yet merchants lost their profits, coming to contest over precious goods.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon water, peril met with benevolent cultivation. Yao and Shun practiced humane governance, nourishing the worthy and thereby attracting blessings. Outstanding talents gathered around them, and the realm knew neither bandits nor thieves. Yet the verse pivots: merchants lose their advantage as others come to compete for precious goods. From The Abysmal to Small Taming, the wind that gently restrains heaven suggests cultivation through moral influence rather than force. Yao and Shun's accumulation of virtue draws talent naturally, just as wind over heaven gradually tames what is wild. But even in such an age, competition does not vanish — it is merely refined into orderly contest.
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