蹇 → 否
Hexagram 39: Obstruction → Hexagram 12: Standstill
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 3, 4, 6).
Line 3
九三 往蹇來反。
Nine in the third place means: Going leads to obstructions; Hence he comes back.
Line 4
六四 往蹇來連。
Six in the fourth place means: Going leads to obstructions, Coming leads to union.
Line 6
上六 往蹇來碩。吉。利見大人。
Six at the top means: Going leads to obstructions, Coming leads to great good fortune. It furthers one to see the great man.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
六藝之門，仁義俱存。鎡基逢時，堯舜為君。傷寒熱溫，下至黃泉。
At the gate of the Six Arts, benevolence and righteousness abide. The hoe meets its season; Yao and Shun are sovereign. But cold and fever strike, and one descends to the Yellow Springs.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water on the mountain frames a paradox of aspiration and collapse. The Six Arts stand as gates to civilization, benevolence and righteousness dwell within — and at the right moment, even a farmer with a hoe may encounter an age of Yao and Shun. Yet the verse pivots sharply: illness strikes with burning fever, and the afflicted descend to the Yellow Springs of death. The juxtaposition is deliberately jarring: the highest ideals and the cruelest fate coexist without resolution. From Obstruction to Standstill, heaven and earth cease to communicate. The Six Arts may preserve their wisdom, but when the cosmos itself is in blockage, even the virtuous fall ill and die. Standstill is obstruction perfected — not merely a blocked path but a severed cosmos where moral cultivation cannot prevent physical annihilation.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store