蒙 → 隨
Hexagram 4: Youthful Folly → Hexagram 17: Following
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4, 5, 6).
Line 1
初六 發蒙。利用刑人。用說桎梏。以往吝。
Six at the beginning means: To make a fool develop It furthers one to apply discipline. The fetters should be removed. To go on in this way bring humiliation.
Line 2
九二 包蒙吉。納婦吉。子克家。
Nine in the second place means: To bear with fools in kindliness brings good fortune. To know how to take women Brings good fortune. The son is capable of taking charge of the household.
Line 4
六四 困蒙。吝。
Six in the fourth place means: Entangled folly bring humiliation.
Line 5
六五 童蒙。吉。
Six in the fifth place means: Childlike folly brings good fortune.
Line 6
上九 擊蒙。不利為寇。利禦寇。
Nine at the top means: In punishing folly It does not further one To commit transgressions. The only thing that furthers Is to prevent transgressions.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
猿墮高木，不踒手足。還歸其室，保我金玉。
The ape falls from a tall tree, yet does not break hand or foot. It returns to its den and keeps safe my gold and jade.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
A spring beneath the mountain watches an ape tumble from a tall tree — yet land without breaking hand or foot. It returns to its den and safeguards its gold and jade. The ape's fall looks catastrophic but proves harmless; instinct and agility turn disaster into a soft landing. The treasures waiting at home remain intact. From Youthful Folly to Following, the transformation captures the wisdom of yielding to momentum rather than resisting it. Thunder rests within the lake at evening; the gentleman retires to peace. The naif who falls need not panic — sometimes the fall itself carries one home, and what seemed like loss becomes the path back to what matters most.
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