Hexagram 33: Retreat → Hexagram 59: Dispersion

Retreat
Heaven / Mountain
Dispersion
Wind / Water
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4).

Line 2

六二 執之用黃牛之革。莫之勝說。

zhíto bind
zhīit
yòngwith
huángyellow
niúcow
zhī's
rawhide
none
zhīwill
shèngsuccess in
shuōgetting it loose

Six in the second place means: he holds him fast with yellow oxhide. No one can tear him loose.

Line 3

九三 係遯。有疾厲。畜臣妾吉。

entangled up
dùnretreat
yǒuthere is
urgent
and difficulty
chùattending to
chénone's servant
qièand concubine
was

Nine in the third place means: A halted retreat Is nerve-wracking and dangerous. To retain people as men- and maidservants Brings good fortune.

Line 4

九四 好遯。君子吉。小人否。

hǎoa voluntary
dùnretreat
jūnthe noble
young one
good fortune
xiǎothe ordinarily
rénpeople
deny

Nine in the fourth place means: Voluntary retreat brings good fortune to the superior man And downfall to the inferior man.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramHeaven WindThe Creative → The Gentle
Lower TrigramMountain WaterKeeping Still → The Deep

Yilin Verse

雲夢苑囿,萬物蕃熾。犀象玳瑁,荊人以富。

The Yunmeng park and hunting grounds; the ten thousand creatures flourish and thrive. Rhinoceros, elephants, and hawksbill turtles; by these the men of Chu grow wealthy.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Heaven above the mountain disperses into wind over water — Dispersion, where what was frozen is melted and scattered. The Yunmeng Marshes teem with wildlife; all living things flourish and multiply. Rhinoceros, elephants, and hawksbill turtles abound — through these riches the people of Chu grow wealthy. Yunmeng was the vast royal hunting preserve of the Chu kingdom in modern Hubei, celebrated in Han rhapsodies for its staggering natural abundance. From Retreat to Dispersion, the mountain's concentrated withdrawal gives way to the wind scattering across water — resources distributed widely. The verse celebrates the retreat from accumulation: Chu's wealth is not hoarded in vaults but dispersed across living marshlands. Dispersion here is generosity in its most organic form — nature's own abundance flowing freely to those who dwell within it.

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