睽 → 損
Hexagram 38: Opposition → Hexagram 41: Decrease
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 4).
Line 4
九四 睽孤。遇元夫。交孚。厲无咎。
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
天戶東墟，盡既為災。跰𨂡黯聾，秦伯受殃。
Heaven's door at the eastern horizon; the eclipse becomes a disaster. Stumbling, deaf and dark; the Lord of Qin suffers calamity.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire above the lake, and the celestial gate opens upon the eastern ruins — an ominous configuration that portends total calamity. Limping, stumbling, deafened, and blinded, the figure of a lord of Qin suffers bodily punishment. The verse may allude to Duke Mu of Qin's disastrous campaign at the Battle of Xiao in 627 BC, where his entire expeditionary force was captured by Jin. Despite warnings from the elder Jian Shu, Mu ignored counsel and sent his army to certain defeat — a pattern of 'hearing good advice and refusing to follow' that resonates throughout this hexagram. From Opposition to Decrease, the mountain looms above the lake, and the gentleman restrains anger and curbs desire. The transformation warns that unchecked ambition must be diminished before it cripples the ruler entirely.
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