遯 → 中孚
Hexagram 33: Retreat → Hexagram 61: Inner Truth
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4).
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 3
九三 係遯。有疾厲。畜臣妾吉。
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。
Nine in the fourth place means: Voluntary retreat brings good fortune to the superior man And downfall to the inferior man.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
鎡基逢時，稷契皋陶，貞良願得，微子解囚，市空無虎，謾誕妄語。
The hoe meets its season; Ji, Qi, and Gao Yao — upright and virtuous, worthy of trust. Weizi is freed from prison; the market is empty, no tiger. Lies and wild falsehoods, reckless words.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven above the mountain opens into wind over lake — Inner Truth, where sincerity penetrates like wind across water. The verse assembles a dense constellation of references: the plowshare finds its season; Hou Ji, Qi, and Gao Yao — ministers of the sage-kings — are steadfast and good, longing for recognition. Viscount Wei is freed from captivity. Then the verse pivots: the marketplace is empty of tigers; the rumors were reckless lies. The final image alludes to the 'three men make a tiger' parable — if three people claim a tiger walks the market, even the wise begin to believe. From Retreat to Inner Truth, the mountain's withdrawal becomes the wind's sincere penetration. The verse demands discrimination: true ministers deserve recognition; false reports deserve exposure. Inner truth distinguishes the real sage from the phantom tiger.
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