晉 → 井
Hexagram 35: Progress → Hexagram 48: The Well
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
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 4
九四 晉如鼫鼠。貞厲。
Nine in the fourth place means: Progress like a hamster. Perseverance brings danger.
Line 5
六五 悔亡。失得勿恤。往吉无不利。
Six in the fifth place means: Remorse disappears. Take not gain and loss to heart. Undertakings bring good fortune. Everything serves to further.
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
八才既登，以成善功，厖降庭堅，國无憂凶。
Eight talents all ascend; thereby achieving great merit. Pang descends, Ting Jian serves; the state knows no sorrow or misfortune.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire rises above the earth, and the eight worthies have ascended to office, accomplishing excellent governance. The 'eight talents' likely refers to the 'Eight Exemplaries and Eight Able Ministers' (八元八愷) of legendary Emperor Shun's reign — sixteen virtuous officials who brought order to the world. Pang descends to the court, upright and firm, and the nation knows neither worry nor misfortune. From Progress to the Well, the transformation reveals the mechanism of enduring prosperity. Water drawn up through wood — the well that never moves yet serves the entire community. Like Shun's ministers who formed the infrastructure of good governance, the well provides nourishment without seeking credit. The state prospers because its institutional foundations run deep and remain in place.
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