明夷 → 頤
Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light → Hexagram 27: Nourishment
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 3, 6).
Line 3
九三 明夷于南狩。得其大首。不可疾貞。
Nine in the third place means: Darkening of the light during the hunt in the south. Their great leader is captured. One must not expect perseverance too soon.
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
三狸搏鼠，遮遏前後，死於環城，不得脫走。
Three wildcats hunt a mouse; they block its way before and behind. It dies within the walled city; it cannot escape and flee.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire sinks beneath the earth as the mountain rests above thunder — Nourishment, where sustenance depends on what enters and exits the mouth. 'Three wildcats catch a mouse, blocking it front and back; it dies within the walled city, unable to escape.' The image is merciless: predators surround their prey in a closed space, cutting off every route. The 'ring-city' (環城) suggests an enclosed fortification, transforming what should be shelter into a killing ground. From Darkening of the Light to Nourishment, the transformation adds a grim dimension: what should nourish instead devours. The mouth that feeds also consumes — those trapped within a corrupted system of sustenance are consumed by the very structure meant to protect them.
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