屯 → 萃
Hexagram 3: Difficulty at the Beginning → Hexagram 45: Gathering Together
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 4).
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
黃帝所生，伏羲之宇。兵刃不至，利以居止。
Birthplace of the Yellow Emperor, realm of Fuxi. No blades or weapons come near; favorable for dwelling and staying.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Clouds and thunder give way to lake gathered upon earth: initial difficulty resolves into peaceful assembly. This is the land where the Yellow Emperor was born and where Fu Xi held court. No blades or weapons reach here, and it is profitable to dwell and remain. The verse invokes the two foundational culture heroes of Chinese civilization as divine patrons of a protected space. The Yellow Emperor, who defeated Chi You and founded civilization, and Fu Xi, who devised the trigrams, together sanctify a place beyond the reach of violence. From Difficulty at the Beginning to Gathering, the lake pools upon earth, drawing all things to congregate naturally. The sacred geography of origin becomes a sanctuary where initial difficulty is not overcome but simply absent, held at bay by ancestral blessing.
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