Hexagram 39: Obstruction → Hexagram 55: Abundance

Obstruction
Water / Mountain
Abundance
Thunder / Fire
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5).

Line 1

初六 往蹇來譽。

wǎng(if
jiǎn(is) impassable
lái(then) coming (back)
praise(worthy)

Six at the beginning means: Going leads to obstructions, Coming meets with praise.

Line 4

六四 往蹇來連。

wǎng(if
jiǎn(is) impassable
lái(then) coming (back)
liánalliance(s)

Six in the fourth place means: Going leads to obstructions, Coming leads to union.

Line 5

九五 大蹇朋來。

(at) (a) major
jiǎnimpasse
péngcompanions
láicome

Nine in the fifth place means: In the midst of the greatest obstructions, Friends come.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramWater ThunderThe Deep → The Arousing
Lower TrigramMountain FireKeeping Still → The Clinging

Yilin Verse

延頸望邑,恩歸其室。臺榭不成,未得安息。

Craning his neck, he gazes toward the city, hoping grace will return to his home. Terraces and pavilions remain unfinished; he has not yet found rest.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Water on the mountain leaves the traveler straining to see home. Stretching one's neck to gaze toward the distant city, longing for grace to return to one's household. Yet the terraces and pavilions are never completed, and rest remains elusive. The image combines homesickness with frustrated ambition: the speaker can see where he wants to be but cannot arrive, and the structures he hoped to build remain unfinished. From Obstruction to Abundance, thunder and lightning combine in the fullest display of energy. Abundance promises the zenith of power and illumination, but the verse reveals what happens when Abundance remains just out of reach: the terraces that should crown the estate stand half-built, and the traveler who should be feasting in his completed hall is still craning his neck on the mountain road.

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