解 → 謙
Hexagram 40: Deliverance → Hexagram 15: Modesty
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4).
Line 2
九二 田獲三狐。得黃矢。貞吉。
Nine in the second place means: One kills three foxes in the field And receives a yellow arrow. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Line 3
六三 負且乘。致寇至。貞吝。
Six in the third place means: If a man carries a burden on his back And nonetheless rides in a carriage, He thereby encourages robbers to draw near. Perseverance leads to humiliation.
Line 4
九四 解而拇。朋至斯孚。
Nine in the fourth place means: Deliver yourself from your great toe. Then the companion comes, And him you can trust.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
三火高明，雨滅其光。高位疾顛，驕恣誅傷。
Three fires blaze bright; rain extinguishes their light. Those in high places fall swiftly; the arrogant and reckless are punished and harmed.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over water descends into the mountain hidden within the earth — the leveling force of modesty. Three fires blaze high and bright, but rain extinguishes their light. Those in lofty positions fall swiftly; the arrogant and self-indulgent are cut down and harmed. The three fires may symbolize three powerful figures or factions whose brilliance provokes the heaven's correction. From Deliverance to Modesty, the transformation is a stern lesson: release from constraint tempts the liberated toward excess, but the mountain within the earth reminds that what rises too high will be brought low. Rain quenches fire as surely as heaven levels pride.
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