離 → 比
Hexagram 30: The Clinging Fire → Hexagram 8: Holding Together
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 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 3
九三 日昃之離。不鼓缶而歌。則大耋之嗟。凶。
Nine in the third place means: In the light of the setting sun, Men either beat the pot and sing Or loudly bewail the approach of old age. Misfortune.
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 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
松柏枝葉，常茂不落，君子惟體，日富安樂。
Pine and cypress, branches and leaves; ever flourishing, never falling. The noble man takes this as his model; daily growing wealthy and at ease.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Doubled fire meets water resting upon earth: brilliance finds lasting fellowship. Pine and cypress branches and leaves remain evergreen, never falling. The noble person embodies this constancy, growing richer and more content with each day. Pine and cypress are classical symbols of integrity under adversity, praised in the Analerta: 'Only after the cold season do we know that pine and cypress are last to wither.' The verse presents enduring virtue as the basis of true prosperity. From The Clinging to Holding Together, fire's flickering brightness becomes the steady bond of water upon earth. Loyalty that never wavers, like the evergreen canopy, draws others naturally into its shelter and creates lasting community.
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