Hexagram 31: Influence → Hexagram 22: Grace

Influence
Lake / Mountain
Grace
Mountain / Fire
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5, 6).

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 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.

Line 6

上六 咸其輔頰舌。

xiánmoving
in
maxilla
jiájawbones: and mandible
shéand tongue

Six at the top means: The influence shows itself in the jaws, cheeks, and tongue.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramLake MountainThe Joyous → Keeping Still
Lower TrigramMountain FireKeeping Still → The Clinging

Yilin Verse

雄狐唯唯,登上山嵬,昭告顯功,大福允興。

The male fox, bold and sure; climbs up the towering peak. Proclaiming bright achievements; great blessings truly flourish.

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

Commentary

A lake upon a mountain, and from below a male fox climbs boldly. The fox ascends the high crag with confident steps, announcing great accomplishments for all to see, and abundant blessings flourish. The fox in Chinese symbolism is often cunning or deceptive, but a 'male fox' (雄狐) ascending prominently and proclaiming merit suggests bold assertion rewarded — not trickery but audacity that succeeds because the moment is right. From Influence to Grace, the mountain's open receptivity transforms into fire glowing beneath the mountain: natural beauty illuminating substance. The fox's ascent and proclamation resonates with Grace's principle of form adorning content. Genuine accomplishment, when openly displayed at the proper time, attracts the blessings it deserves.

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