Hexagram 38: Opposition → Hexagram 19: Approach

Opposition
Fire / Lake
Approach
Earth / Lake
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 4, 6).

Line 4

九四 睽孤。遇元夫。交孚。厲无咎。

kuíestranged
(and) (all) alone
meet
yuán(a
(gentle)man
jiāoexchange
(in
(the) difficulty
(is) not
jiù(a) wrong(ness)

Nine in the fourth place means: Isolated through opposition, One meets a like-minded man With whom one can associate in good faith. Despite the danger, no blame.

Line 6

上九 睽孤。見豕負塗。載鬼一車。先張之弧。後說之弧。匪寇婚媾。往遇雨則吉。

kuíestranged
(and) (all) alone
jiànseeing
shǐ(a) pig
covered
filth
zàihaul
guǐdemons
(and
chēwagon
xiān(at) first
zhāngstretch
zhīhis
(long)bow
hòu(and
shuōrelaxing
zhīhis
(long)bow
fěiit
kòu(a
hūn(but) (a) marital
gòusuitor
wǎngin going
greet
(the) rain
(and
promising

Nine at the top means: Isolated through opposition, One sees one's companion as a pig covered with dirt, As a wagon full of devils. First one draws a bow against him, then one lays the bow aside. He is not a robber; he will woo at the right time. As one goes, rain falls; then good fortune comes.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramFire EarthThe Clinging → The Receptive
Lower TrigramLake Lake

Yilin Verse

方船備水,旁河燃火,終身无禍。

Square boats guard against flood; fire kept along the riverbank. To the end of one's days, no calamity.

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

Commentary

Fire above the lake, elements at odds, yet preparedness bridges the divide. Square boats stand ready for the flood; along the riverbank, fires burn as beacons or defenses. With water and fire both accounted for, one lives out a lifetime without disaster. The verse is a miniature treatise on risk management: anticipate water, prepare boats; anticipate threats, maintain fire. By honoring both opposing elements rather than choosing one over the other, the wise person neutralizes the danger of each. From Opposition to Approach, earth rests above the lake, the posture of the superior drawing near to the subordinate. The transformation shows that when estranged forces are properly managed through foresight and dual preparation, authority can approach its domain with teaching and protection unbounded.

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