蹇 → 頤
Hexagram 39: Obstruction → Hexagram 27: Nourishment
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 5, 6).
Line 1
初六 往蹇來譽。
Six at the beginning means: Going leads to obstructions, Coming meets with praise.
Line 3
九三 往蹇來反。
Nine in the third place means: Going leads to obstructions; Hence he comes back.
Line 5
九五 大蹇朋來。
Nine in the fifth place means: In the midst of the greatest obstructions, Friends come.
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
張羅百目，鳥不得北。縮頸掛翼，困於窘國。君子治德，獲譽受福。
A net spread with a hundred eyes; the birds cannot flee north. Necks drawn back and wings pinned, trapped in a desperate land. The gentleman cultivates virtue and reaps praise and blessings.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water on the mountain forms a snare. A net of a hundred eyes is spread wide, and the birds cannot flee northward. Necks retracted, wings folded, they are trapped in a desperate state. Yet the verse pivots: the superior person cultivates virtue and thereby wins praise and blessings. The bird-net is a classic metaphor for political encirclement — when every avenue of escape is closed, the only recourse is inner cultivation. From Obstruction to Nourishment, mountain over thunder governs careful speech and moderated consumption. The trapped birds, necks drawn in, mirror Nourishment's image of the closed jaw: survival depends on what one takes in and what one holds back. The man who cultivates virtue amid entrapment is practicing the discipline of the mouth — choosing sustenance over complaint.
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