明夷

Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light → Hexagram 56: The Wanderer

明夷
Darkening of the Light
Earth / Fire
The Wanderer
Mountain / Fire
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 6).

Line 6

上六 不明晦。初登于天。後入于地。

not
míngbrightness
huìbut darkness
chūat first
dēngto rise
into
tiānthe heavens
hòuand
to enter
into
the earth

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

Upper TrigramEarth MountainThe Receptive → Keeping Still
Lower TrigramFire Fire

Yilin Verse

管仲遇桓,得其願歡。膠目啟牢,振冠无憂。笑戲不止,空言妄行。

Guan Zhong met Duke Huan; he obtained his heart's desire and joy. Eyes freed and the prison opened; he straightened his cap without worry. Laughter and jesting without cease; empty words and idle deeds.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Fire beneath the earth blazes as fire upon the mountain — the Wanderer, where the traveler passes through foreign places with only his reputation for protection. 'Guan Zhong encountered Duke Huan and found his heart's desire fulfilled.' Guan Zhong, once a fugitive who had served a rival prince, was recognized by Duke Huan of Qi through the recommendation of Bao Shuya, and together they built Qi's hegemony. Yet the verse pivots: 'Eyes glued shut, the prison opens; the cap is straightened, worry vanishes. Laughter and play without cease — empty words and reckless deeds.' The second half dissolves the first into frivolity. From Darkening of the Light to the Wanderer, the transformation warns that even a great meeting of patron and talent, if followed by complacency, degenerates into aimless wandering.

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