蹇 → 井
Hexagram 39: Obstruction → Hexagram 48: The Well
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 2).
Line 2
六二 王臣蹇蹇。匪躬之故。
Six in the second place means: The King's servant is beset by obstruction upon obstruction, But it is not his own fault.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
荷蕢隱名，以避亂傾。終身不仕，遂其潔清。
Carrying a basket, he hides his name, to escape the chaos and upheaval. He never serves in office his whole life, thereby preserving his purity.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water on the mountain shelters a recluse who has chosen obscurity. The 'man who carries a straw basket' (荷蕢) conceals his name to avoid the chaos of his age. He never takes office for his entire life, thereby perfecting his purity and integrity. The figure alludes to the basket-carrier in the Analerta (Xianwen chapter) who critiqued Confucius's stone-chime playing, recognizing the sage's frustrated ambition in the sound. This unnamed recluse embodies the choice to preserve moral clarity through withdrawal rather than compromise through service. From Obstruction to The Well, water rises through wood as the well's inexhaustible virtue serves all comers. The recluse is himself a well — his purity sustains anyone who draws from it, even though he never enters the public square. The Well's virtue does not require office; it requires only that the water remain clean.
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