蹇 → 漸
Hexagram 39: Obstruction → Hexagram 53: Development
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 6).
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
麟鳳所翔,國无咎殃。賈市十倍,復歸惠里。
Where qilin and phoenix fly, the land is free from blame and disaster. Trade profits tenfold; all return to the village of grace.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water on the mountain gives way to auspicious creatures soaring overhead. Where the qilin and phoenix fly, the state is free from calamity and blame. Trade yields tenfold profit, and the speaker returns to a village of grace and generosity. The qilin and phoenix together form the supreme omen of sage governance — their appearance signals that the cosmic order is functioning perfectly. Commercial prosperity and communal harmony follow naturally. From Obstruction to Development, wind blows over the mountain as the tree grows gradually toward the sky. Development (Jian) is the hexagram of organic, step-by-step progress. The verse shows what Development looks like when it succeeds: trade enriches, the village thrives, and mythical beasts signal that the process has reached its fulfilled state. Obstruction's patience has borne fruit, slowly and properly.
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