家人 → 師
Hexagram 37: The Family → Hexagram 7: The Army
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 閑有家。悔亡。
Nine at the beginning means: Firm seclusion within the family. Remorse disappears.
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 3
九三 家人嗃嗃。悔厲吉。婦子嘻嘻。終吝。
Nine in the third place means: When tempers flare up in the family, Too great severity brings remorse. Good fortune nonetheless. When woman and child dally and laugh It leads in the end to humiliation.
Line 5
九五 王假有家。勿恤吉。
Nine in the fifth place means: As a king he approaches his family. Fear not. 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
三狂北行，道逢大狼。暮宿患澤，為禍堪傷。
Three madmen travel north; on the road they meet a great wolf. At dusk they lodge in a troubled marsh; disaster inflicts its wound.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind from fire once ordered the household, but now three reckless travelers head north and encounter a great wolf on the road. By nightfall they shelter in a troubled marsh, and disaster strikes with grievous injury. The number three and the northward journey suggest a group venturing beyond safe boundaries without discipline or preparation. The wolf and the noxious marsh compound the peril — nature itself turns hostile to the unwary. From The Family to The Army, earth contains water as a commander musters hidden reserves. But the verse shows the opposite of disciplined mobilization: undisciplined wanderers blundering into danger. The Army's lesson is that collective strength requires structure and obedience; without it, even a small party is devoured by the wilderness.
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