恆 → 小畜
Hexagram 32: Duration → Hexagram 9: Small Taming
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5, 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 4
九四 田无禽。
Nine in the fourth place means: No game in the field.
Line 5
六五 恒其德貞。婦人吉。夫子凶。
Six in the fifth place means: Giving duration to one's character through perseverance. This is good fortune for a woman, misfortune for a man.
Line 6
上六 振恆凶。
Six at the top means: Restlessness as an enduring condition brings misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
既嫁宜吉，出入無憂，三聖並居，國安無災。
Once married, all is auspicious; going out and coming in, no worry. Three sages dwell together; the state is at peace, free of calamity.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder above wind, Duration's marital constancy, transforms into wind above heaven — Small Taming's gentle restraint. The bride is wed and all is auspicious; comings and goings proceed without worry. Three sages dwell together, and the nation rests secure without calamity. The 'three sages dwelling together' likely refers to the Duke of Zhou, the Grand Duke (Taigong), and the Duke of Shao — the three pillars who stabilized the early Zhou regency. Duration's steady rhythm here manifests as the enduring marital and political bonds that hold a state together. From Duration to Small Taming, the thunder-and-wind pattern softens to wind-over-heaven: gentle cultivation of virtue replaces raw persistence, and the realm prospers through shared wisdom rather than forceful constancy.
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