離 → 明夷
Hexagram 30: The Clinging Fire → Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 4, 6).
Line 4
九四 突如其來如。焚如。死如。棄如。
Nine in the fourth place means: Its coming is sudden; It flames up, dies down, is thrown away.
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
使伯東乘，恨不肯行，與叔爭訟，更相毀傷。
Sending the elder to ride east; resentful, he refuses to go. With the younger brother he quarrels and disputes; each inflicting further harm upon the other.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Doubled fire meets fire sinking into the earth: brilliance descends into darkness. The elder brother is sent eastward on a mission but resents the journey and refuses to go. He quarrels with the younger brother, and the two inflict mutual wounds. The verse depicts fraternal strife born from resentment of duty. One brother refuses his assignment; the other challenges him; both are damaged. From The Clinging to Darkening of the Light, fire's illumination is driven underground. The image of brightness entering the earth suggests a time when clarity itself becomes dangerous — those who see clearly are wounded, and those who resist their calling wound others. The brothers' mutual destruction embodies a household where light has turned against itself, each flame consuming the other.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store