明夷 → 小畜
Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light → Hexagram 9: Small Taming
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 5, 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 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.
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
道遠遼絕，路宿多悔，頑囂相聚，生我畏惡。
The road is distant and cut off; lodging on the way brings much regret. Ruffians and scoundrels gather round, breeding fear and loathing in me.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire sinks beneath the earth while wind skims across heaven, barely restraining its force — Small Taming, where gentle influence attempts to moderate what it cannot fully contain. The verse describes a road 'distant and desolate,' a journey filled with regret, where 'stubborn rabble gather' and breed fear and loathing. This is exile in hostile territory, the traveler exposed to vulgar company far from home. The imagery resonates with the Shijing's 'Yellow Bird' exile lament. From Darkening of the Light to Small Taming, the transformation reveals the predicament of one whose light has been driven underground: even the attempt to restrain surrounding chaos achieves only partial success, and the cultivated person must endure coarse surroundings while preserving inner refinement.
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