晉 → 大壯
Hexagram 35: Progress → Hexagram 34: Great Power
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 6).
Line 1
初六 晉如摧如。貞吉。罔孚。裕无咎。
Six at the beginning means: Progressing, but turned back. Perseverance brings good fortune. If one meets with no confidence, one should remain calm. No mistake.
Line 2
六二 晉如愁如。貞吉。受茲介福。于其王母。
Six in the second place means: Progressing, but in sorrow. Perseverance brings good fortune. Then one obtains great happiness from one's ancestress.
Line 3
六三 眾允悔亡。
Six in the third place means: All are in accord. Remorse disappears.
Line 6
上九 晉其角。維用伐邑。厲吉无咎。貞吝。
Nine at the top means: Making progress with the horns is permissible Only for the purpose of punishing one's own city. To be conscious of danger brings good fortune. No blame. Perseverance brings humiliation.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
鼎足承德，嘉謀生福，為王開庭，得心所欲。
The tripod’s legs uphold virtue; excellent counsel gives birth to fortune. Opening court for the king; attaining the heart’s desire.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire rises above the earth, and the cauldron's three legs bear the weight of virtue. Excellent counsel generates good fortune, the king's court is opened, and the heart's desires are fulfilled. The tripod cauldron (ding) is the supreme symbol of legitimate rule in Chinese political imagery — the vessel that transforms raw offerings into sacred nourishment for the state. 'Ding zu cheng de' places the emphasis on structural support: good ministers upholding the sovereign like the cauldron's legs uphold the vessel. From Progress to Great Power, the transformation charges forward. Thunder above heaven — the most forceful image in the Yi. The well-counseled king whose court rests on solid ministerial support can act with overwhelming, righteous momentum.
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