恆 → 頤
Hexagram 32: Duration → Hexagram 27: Nourishment
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 6).
Line 1
初六 浚恆貞凶。无攸利。
Six at the beginning means: Seeking duration too hastily brings misfortune persistently. Nothing that would further.
Line 2
九二 悔亡。
Nine in the second place means: Remorse disappears.
Line 3
九三 不恆其德。或承之羞。貞吝。
Nine in the third place means: He who does not give duration to his character Meets with disgrace. Persistent humiliation.
Line 4
九四 田无禽。
Nine in the fourth place means: No game in the field.
Line 6
上六 振恆凶。
Six at the top means: Restlessness as an enduring condition brings misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
南過棘門，鉤裂我冠，鬭之傷襦，使君恨憂。
Passing south through the thorn gate; hooks tear my cap. Struggling through, the jacket rips; it leaves the lord in grievous worry.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder above wind, Duration's steady forward motion, meets mountain above thunder — Nourishment's careful provision. Passing south through the Thorn Gate, thorns hook and tear the ceremonial cap; struggling through, the short coat is ripped. The lord is left with only bitter regret. The 'Thorn Gate' (棘門) was one of the military camps near Chang'an during Emperor Wen of Han's reign — a camp known for its lax discipline, contrasted with Zhou Yafu's strict command at Xiliu. The torn cap and shredded jacket signal a passage forced through hostile terrain that strips away dignity. From Duration to Nourishment, the steady path meets the mountain's demand for careful sustenance. What should nourish instead injures; the gate that should admit instead tears, and the enduring traveler arrives damaged beyond expectation.
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