睽 → 歸妹
Hexagram 38: Opposition → Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 6).
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。
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
Yilin Verse
鉛刀攻玉，无不鑽鑿。龍體其舉，魯般為輔。三仁翼事，所求必喜。
A lead knife works the jade; nothing it cannot bore and carve. The dragon body shall rise; Master Lu Ban is the aide. Three sages wing the enterprise; whatever is sought must bring delight.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire above the lake, and even a lead knife can carve jade. The verse declares that no material is so humble it cannot accomplish great work: a blunt lead blade, given persistence, drills and chisels through the hardest stone. A dragon-bodied vessel rises with Lu Ban — the legendary master craftsman — serving as its support. The Three Benevolent Ones of Shang (Weizi, Jizi, and Bigan) lend their wings to the enterprise, and whatever is sought succeeds with delight. The 'lead knife attacking jade' is a classical metaphor for modest talent achieving great results through sheer determination. From Opposition to the Marrying Maiden, thunder stirs above the lake, and the gentleman understands endings through knowing their flaws. The transformation suggests that even imperfect instruments, properly committed, can accomplish what seems beyond their nature.
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