蹇 → 旅
Hexagram 39: Obstruction → Hexagram 56: The Wanderer
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 4, 5, 6).
Line 4
六四 往蹇來連。
Six in the fourth place means: Going leads to obstructions, Coming leads to union.
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
蒙生株瞿，棘掛我須。小人妬嫉，使恩不遂。
Creeping plants grow on the stump; thorns catch and snag my beard. Petty men are jealous and envious; they prevent kindness from reaching its end.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water on the mountain tangles the traveler in thorns. Parasitic growth sprouts on dead stumps, and thorn-bushes snag the speaker's beard. Petty men nurse jealousy and ensure that intended kindness never reaches its destination. The verse presents obstruction as sabotage: the path is not merely difficult but actively hostile, with thorns and envious rivals conspiring to prevent good from being done. From Obstruction to The Wanderer, fire burns above the mountain as the traveler moves through alien territory. The Wanderer knows that every step in foreign land carries risk, and local hostility can transform a journey into a catastrophe. The snagged beard is the Wanderer's particular nightmare — detained by trivial obstacles while malicious locals ensure that his mission fails. Caution and clarity of judgment are the Wanderer's only armor.
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