晉 → 困

Commentary

Fire rises above the earth, but the eastbound rider falls from his mount and spends the night alone a thousand li from home. High banks collapse into valleys — the ancient Shijing image of cosmic reversal — and the yang force loses its dwelling. Every image here inverts: the rider thrown, the cliff becoming a gorge, the bright force losing its home. From Progress to Oppression, the transformation enacts the fall. The lake has no water — the most desolate image in the Yi. The rider cast down from his horse a thousand li from anyone mirrors the lake drained of its essence. Oppression's teaching is to maintain one's word even when utterly spent: the gentleman achieves his aim through will alone when every external support has vanished.