屯 → 否
Hexagram 3: Difficulty at the Beginning → Hexagram 12: Standstill
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 6).
Line 1
初九 磐桓。利居貞。利建侯。
Nine at the beginning means: Hesitation and hindrance. It furthers one to remain persevering. It furthers one to appoint helpers.
Line 4
六四 乘馬班如。求婚媾。往吉。无不利。
Six in the fourth place means: Horse and wagon part. Strive for union. To go brings good fortune. Everything acts to further.
Line 6
上六 乘馬班如。泣血漣如。
Six at the top means: Horse and wagon part. Bloody tears flow.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
登几上輿，駕駟南遊。合從散橫，燕齊以強。
Ascending the bench, mounting the carriage; driving four horses on a southern journey. Uniting the Vertical Alliance, scattering the Horizontal; Yan and Qi grow strong.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Clouds and thunder give way to heaven and earth refusing to meet: initial struggle hardens into deadlock. A dignitary ascends his carriage and drives south with a team of four, forging the Vertical Alliance to scatter the Horizontal — and Yan and Qi grow strong. This references the Warring States diplomatic strategy: the Vertical Alliance (hezong) united weaker states against Qin, while the Horizontal Alliance (lianheng) was Qin's counter-strategy of bilateral deals. The verse names the moment when coalition-building shifts the balance of power. From Difficulty at the Beginning to Standstill, the paradox emerges: political maneuvering that strengthens individual states simultaneously entrenches mutual blockage, as heaven and earth refuse communication and each side fortifies its position.
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