家人 → 需
Hexagram 37: The Family → Hexagram 5: Waiting
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 6).
Line 2
六二 无攸遂。在中饋。貞吉。
Six in the second place means: She should not follow her whims. She must attend within to the food. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Line 6
上九 有孚威如。終吉。
Nine at the top means: His work commands respect. In the end good fortune comes.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
主有聖德，上配大極。皇靈建中，授我以福。
The lord possesses sagely virtue, matched above to the Great Ultimate. The imperial spirit establishes the center and bestows blessings upon us.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind from fire radiates outward as a ruler's virtue reaches the celestial pole. The sovereign possesses sage-like virtue and is matched with the Supreme Ultimate above. The imperial spirit establishes the center, and blessings are bestowed upon the speaker. This is the language of Han-dynasty court ritual: the ruler's moral power aligns with cosmic order, and fortune flows downward to loyal subjects. The verse describes the ideal relationship between sovereign virtue and cosmic mandate. From The Family to Waiting, clouds gather above heaven — abundance is assured but requires patient trust. The blessing is not seized but received; like rain clouds that must fully form before nourishing the earth, the ruler's grace descends in its own time to those who wait with faith.
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