咸 → 井
Hexagram 31: Influence → Hexagram 48: The Well
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 4).
Line 2
六二 咸其腓。凶。居吉。
Six in the second place means: The influence shows itself in the calves of the legs. Misfortune. Tarrying brings good fortune.
Line 4
九四 貞吉悔亡。憧憧往來。朋從爾思。
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
望尚阿衡，太宰周公。藩屏湯武，立為王侯。
Looking up to the Shang minister Yi Yin; Grand Steward, the Duke of Zhou. Shields and screens for Tang and Wu; established as lords and kings.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
A lake upon a mountain, and the greatest ministers are summoned by name. Yi Yin — honored as 'Aheng' (阿衡) — the cook from Youshen who became the founding chancellor of the Shang dynasty, and the Duke of Zhou, Grand Steward of the realm, who served as regent for the young King Cheng. These two are the supreme exemplars of ministerial devotion: Yi Yin who guided Tang to overthrow tyranny, and the Duke of Zhou who shielded the dynasty he helped create. They served as bulwarks for Tang and Wu, establishing them as kings. From Influence to the Well, the mountain's openness becomes water drawn up through wood — the inexhaustible resource that nourishes all who come. Like the well that never runs dry, the wisdom of these great ministers sustains the state across generations.
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