大壯 → 蒙
Hexagram 34: Great Power → Hexagram 4: Youthful Folly
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 6).
Line 1
初九 壯于趾。征凶有孚。
Nine at the beginning means: Power in the toes. Continuing brings misfortune. This is certainly true.
Line 3
九三 小人用壯。君子用罔。貞厲。羝羊觸藩。羸其角。
Nine in the third place means: The inferior man works through power. The superior man does not act thus. To continue is dangerous. A goat butts against a hedge And gets its horns entangled.
Line 4
九四 貞吉。悔亡。藩決不羸。壯于大輿之輹。
Nine in the fourth place means: Perseverance brings good fortune. Remorse disappears. The hedge opens; there is no entanglement. Power depends upon the axle of a big cart.
Line 6
上六 羝羊觸藩。不能退。不能遂。无攸利。艱則吉。
Six at the top means: A goat butts against a hedge. It cannot go backward, it cannot go forward. Nothing serves to further. If one notes the difficulty, this brings good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
心患其身，不念安存，忠臣孝子，為國除患。
The heart fears for the body; it does not think of its own safety. The loyal minister and filial son rid the state of peril.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder above heaven shakes the body awake with worry: one who fears for the realm cannot rest in personal comfort. The verse celebrates the loyal minister and filial son who set aside self-preservation to eliminate threats for the state. Their bodies are burdened, their minds consumed, yet they act not from ambition but from devotion. From Great Power to Youthful Folly, the transformation traces how vigorous action must eventually yield to the patient education that prevents future harm. The mountain spring of Meng emerges slowly, teaching through experience rather than force. True service to the state means not only wielding power against present dangers but cultivating the wisdom to forestall the next crisis before it forms.
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