明夷 → 大畜
Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light → Hexagram 26: Great Taming
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 6).
Line 2
六二 明夷。夷于左股。用拯馬壯吉。
Six in the second place means: Darkening of the light injures him in the left thigh. He gives aid with the strength of a horse. Good fortune.
Line 6
上六 不明晦。初登于天。後入于地。
Six at the top means: Not light but darkness. First he climbed up to heaven, Then plunged into the depths of the earth.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
牽尾不前，逆理失臣，惠朔以奔。
Pulling the tail, it will not advance; reason reversed, the minister lost. Hui Shuo thereupon fled.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire beneath the earth meets heaven contained within the mountain — Great Taming, where accumulated power is held in check. 'Pulling the tail, unable to advance; going against principle, losing ministers — Hui and Shuo fled.' The verse describes a ruler who, by grasping backward rather than leading forward, violates governance and drives loyal servants into exile. The reference to 'Hui Shuo' most likely points to Duke Hui of Wei (Shuo), who was installed through intrigue and whose misrule provoked rebellion, forcing him to flee in 696 BC. From Darkening of the Light to Great Taming, the transformation warns that accumulated power misapplied becomes a trap: the mountain that stores heaven's force must direct it wisely, or its own ministers will bolt.
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