咸 → 小畜
Hexagram 31: Influence → Hexagram 9: Small Taming
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4, 6).
Line 1
初六 咸其拇。
Six at the beginning means: The influence shows itself in the big toe.
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.
Line 6
上六 咸其輔頰舌。
Six at the top means: The influence shows itself in the jaws, cheeks, and tongue.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
謾誕不成，倍梁滅文，許人賣牛，三失爭之，失利後時，公孫懷憂。
Deceit and falsehood come to naught; turning one's back on good faith, destroying trust. Promising to sell another's ox; three lose what they contest. Profit missed, the moment gone; Lord Gongsun harbors worry.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
A lake upon a mountain stirs influence, but here that influence breeds deception. Reckless words fail to produce results, trust is doubled back upon itself and good faith destroyed. Someone promises to sell a bull, but three parties fight over the deal, profit slips away, the moment passes, and a nobleman is left anxious. The verse piles up images of broken contracts and squandered opportunities: boasts that cannot be fulfilled, commercial fraud, and disputes that devour whatever gain might have existed. From Influence to Small Taming, the mountain's open receptivity transforms into wind passing over heaven — a gentle restraining force that lacks the power to hold things together. What should have been a small, patient accumulation is ruined by loose tongues and competing claims.
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