離 → 大過
Hexagram 30: The Clinging Fire → Hexagram 28: Great Exceeding
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 履錯然。敬之。无咎。
Nine at the beginning means: The footprints run crisscross. If one is seriously intent, no blame.
Line 2
六二 黃離。元吉。
Six in the second place means: Yellow light. Supreme good fortune.
Line 5
六五 出涕沱若。戚嗟若。吉。
Six in the fifth place means: Tears in floods, sighing and lamenting. Good fortune.
Line 6
上九 王用出征。有嘉。折首。獲匪其醜。无咎。
Nine at the top means: The king uses him to march forth and chastise. Then it is best to kill the leaders And take captive the followers. No blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
六月采芑，征伐無道，張仲方叔，克勝飲酒。
In the sixth month, gathering artemisia; campaigning to punish the lawless. Zhang Zhong and Fang Shu; victorious, they drink wine together.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Doubled fire meets the lake submerging wind: brilliance pushes beyond ordinary limits. In the sixth month, one gathers the qi-herb and sets forth to punish the unjust. Zhang Zhong and Fang Shu achieve victory and celebrate with wine. This alludes to two Shijing odes from the Xiao Ya section. 'Liu Yue' (Sixth Month) celebrates Yin Jifu's campaign against the Xianyun, with 'Zhang Zhong' praised for filial virtue. 'Cai Qi' celebrates Fang Shu's southern expedition, where gathering the qi-herb signals mustering troops. From The Clinging to Great Exceeding, fire's brilliance drives action beyond the normal framework. The righteous campaign succeeds precisely because it dares to exceed convention, and the victors' wine-drinking marks the extraordinary nature of a mission accomplished against the odds.
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