明夷 → 節
Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light → Hexagram 60: Limitation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 5).
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 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 5
六五 箕子之明夷。利貞。
Six in the fifth place means: Darkening of the light as with Prince Chi. Perseverance furthers.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
牛驚馬走，上下渾擾。鼓音不絕，頃公奔敗。
Oxen startled, horses bolting; above and below in turmoil. Drum thunder without cease; Duke Qing flees in defeat.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire beneath the earth encounters water upon the lake — Limitation, where proper boundaries prevent excess. 'Cattle stampede, horses bolt; above and below all is chaos. The drums never cease; Duke Qing flees in defeat.' The verse alludes to the Battle of An in 589 BC, where Duke Qing of Qi was routed by the Jin army under Xi Ke. According to the Zuo Zhuan, Qi's army panicked and Duke Qing barely escaped by having his minister Feng Chofu swap chariots with him. The unceasing drums represent the din of battle turning to rout. From Darkening of the Light to Limitation, the transformation warns that when proper limits are violated — as Qi overstepped by attacking Jin's allies — the resulting chaos admits no half-measures. Only total defeat imposes the limitation the ruler refused to accept willingly.
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