遯 → 夬
Hexagram 33: Retreat → Hexagram 43: Breakthrough
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 6).
Line 1
初六 遯尾厲。勿用有攸往。
Six at the beginning means: At the tail in retreat. This is dangerous. One must not wish to undertake anything.
Line 2
六二 執之用黃牛之革。莫之勝說。
Six in the second place means: he holds him fast with yellow oxhide. No one can tear him loose.
Line 6
上九 肥遯无不利。
Nine at the top means: Cheerful retreat. Everything serves to further.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
擇日高飛，遂至東齊，見孔聖師，使我和諧。
Choosing an auspicious day, he flies high; and so arrives at Eastern Qi. He meets Confucius, the sagely teacher; who brings him harmony and peace.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven above the mountain surges into lake over heaven — Breakthrough, where stored waters burst upward decisively. Choosing an auspicious day, one flies high and arrives in eastern Qi, where one meets the Sage Confucius as teacher. Harmony and order are restored. The verse celebrates a dramatic departure — picking the right moment to leave and finding the supreme mentor. Flying east to Qi evokes both Confucius's own travels and the tradition of students journeying to find great teachers. From Retreat to Breakthrough, the mountain's withdrawal builds pressure that finally erupts — the lake rising above heaven. The retreating figure transforms withdrawal into a launching platform: one does not merely leave but ascends, choosing the moment of departure as carefully as the destination. Meeting the sage makes the breakthrough complete.
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