遯 → 謙
Hexagram 33: Retreat → Hexagram 15: Modesty
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 4, 5, 6).
Line 4
九四 好遯。君子吉。小人否。
Nine in the fourth place means: Voluntary retreat brings good fortune to the superior man And downfall to the inferior man.
Line 5
九五 嘉遯貞吉。
Nine in the fifth place means: Friendly retreat. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Line 6
上九 肥遯无不利。
Nine at the top means: Cheerful retreat. Everything serves to further.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
陶朱白圭，善賈息資，公子王孫，富貴不貧。
Tao Zhu and Bai Gui; skilled merchants who multiplied their wealth. Princes and nobles' sons; rich and prosperous, never poor.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven above the mountain sinks into earth concealing mountain — Modesty's quiet power. Tao Zhu Gong and Bai Gui, masters of commerce, trade shrewdly and multiply their wealth. Princes and nobles enjoy riches without poverty. Tao Zhu Gong is Fan Li's merchant name — the strategist who helped Goujian destroy Wu, then vanished into trade and became fabulously wealthy. Bai Gui was a Warring States merchant-philosopher who advocated buying when others sold and selling when others bought. Both embody retreat turned to profit: stepping away from political power and channeling energy into commerce. From Retreat to Modesty, the mountain hidden within the earth mirrors the merchant who conceals his capabilities. Wealth flows to those who withdraw from ostentatious power and operate with unassuming precision.
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