Hexagram 31: Influence → Hexagram 19: Approach

Influence
Lake / Mountain
Approach
Earth / Lake
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

Line 1

初六 咸其拇。

xiánmoving
in
big toes

Six at the beginning means: The influence shows itself in the big toe.

Line 2

六二 咸其腓。凶。居吉。

xiánmoving
in
féilower legs
xiōngdisappointing
to abide
is promising

Six in the second place means: The influence shows itself in the calves of the legs. Misfortune. Tarrying brings good fortune.

Line 3

九三 咸其股。執其隨。往吝。

xiánmoving
in
thighs
zhímanage
those
suíconsequences
wǎngto go ahead
lìnis embarrassing

Nine in the third place means: The influence shows itself in the thighs. Holds to that which follows it. To continue is humiliating.

Line 4

九四 貞吉悔亡。憧憧往來。朋從爾思。

zhēnpersistence
is promising
huǐregrets
wángpass
chōngif
chōngand ambivalent
wǎngin whether to go
láior to come
péngyour companions
cóngwill follow
ěryour
thoughts

Nine in the fourth place means: Perseverance brings good fortune. Remorse disappears. If a man is agitated in mind, And his thoughts go hither and thither, Only those friends On whom he fixes his conscious thoughts Will follow.

Line 5

九五 咸其脢。无悔。

xiánmoving
in
méineck and shoulders
without
huǐregrets

Nine in the fifth place means: The influence shows itself in the back of the neck. No remorse.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramLake EarthThe Joyous → The Receptive
Lower TrigramMountain LakeKeeping Still → The Joyous

Yilin Verse

祝駝王孫,能事鬼神,節用綏民,衛國以存,饗我旨酒,眉壽多年。

Zhutuo the prince; able to serve ghosts and gods. Restraining expenditure, easing the people; the state of Wei thus endures. They feast us with fine wine; long-browed longevity, many years.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

A lake upon a mountain, and here the mutual influence between human and divine sustains a state. A ritual officiant and a nobleman serve the spirits with skill, practice thrift to pacify the people, and preserve the state of Wei through their devotion. Fine wine is offered, and long life measured in years of abundant blessings follows. The 'serving ghosts and spirits' (能事鬼神) echoes the Confucian understanding that proper ritual maintains the bond between the living and the ancestral world. From Influence to Approach, the mountain's openness transforms into earth above a lake — the ruler drawing near to the people. This mutual approach, between ruler and subject, between human and spirit, generates the enduring stability that keeps a state alive across generations.

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