大壯

Hexagram 34: Great Power → Hexagram 6: Conflict

大壯
Great Power
Thunder / Heaven
Conflict
Heaven / Water
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 5, 6).

Line 1

初九 壯于趾。征凶有孚。

zhuàngstrong
is in
zhǐthe toes
zhēngto assert
xiōngbodes ill
yǒuhave
truth

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。

xiǎothe common
rénpeople
yòngapply
zhuàngstrength
jūnto (the) noble
young one
yòngapplies
wǎngnets
zhēnpersistence
is difficult
the billy
yánggoat
chù(who) butts (against)
fānthe hedge(row)
léiand entangles(ing)
(by) his
jiǎohorns

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 5

六五 喪羊于易。无悔。

sànglosing
yángthe goat
in
the exchange
no
huǐregret(s)

Six in the fifth place means: Loses the goat with ease. No remorse.

Line 6

上六 羝羊觸藩。不能退。不能遂。无攸利。艱則吉。

the billy
yánggoat
chùbutts (against)
fānthe hedge(row)
not
néngable
退tuìto retreat
not
néngable
suìto proceed
this is no
yōua direction
with merit
jiānbut
give(s) rise to
promise

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

Upper TrigramThunder HeavenThe Arousing → The Creative
Lower TrigramHeaven WaterThe Creative → The Deep

Yilin Verse

東行西窮,南北无功,張伯賣鹿,從者失羊。

Go east and the west is exhausted; go south or north, no success. Zhang Bo sells his deer; his followers lose their sheep.

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

Commentary

Thunder above heaven propels action in every direction, yet nothing connects. East meets exhaustion, west finds poverty, south and north yield no result. Zhang Bo sells his deer but his followers lose their sheep — a proverbial image of misdirected commerce where gain in one quarter leaks away in another. The name Zhang Bo may reference a minor historical figure or serve as a generic type for the merchant who chases profit without a coherent strategy. From Great Power to Conflict, heaven and water move in opposing directions. The energetic force of Dazhuang, applied without focus, scatters into the adversarial friction of Song. Every venture becomes a lawsuit, every trade a dispute, because raw power without deliberate planning simply generates friction wherever it lands.

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