蒙 → 坎
Hexagram 4: Youthful Folly → Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 5, 6).
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
白龍黑虎，起鐐暴怒。戰於涿鹿，蚩尤敗走。居止不殆，君安其所。
White dragon, black tiger; rearing up in furious rage. They battle at Zhuolu; Chiyou is routed and flees. One dwells and stays without peril; the lord is at peace in his place.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
A spring beneath the mountain erupts into primordial battle. A white dragon and black tiger rise in fury and clash at Zhuolu — the legendary battlefield where the Yellow Emperor defeated Chi You, founding Chinese civilization. Chi You is routed and flees. Yet the verse resolves in stillness: one dwells in safety, the lord rests secure. The most violent origin myth yields a stable peace. From Youthful Folly to The Abysmal, the doubled water should signal relentless danger, yet the verse's final image is of a sovereign calmly settled. The key is that the battle has already been decided: the abyss is navigated by those who, like the Yellow Emperor, pass through danger once and establish an order that endures.
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