Hexagram 40: Deliverance → Hexagram 17: Following

Deliverance
Thunder / Water
Following
Lake / Thunder
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 5).

Line 1

初六 无咎。

no
jiùblame

Six at the beginning means: Without blame.

Line 2

九二 田獲三狐。得黃矢。貞吉。

tián(in) (a
huò(and) take
sānthree
foxes
earn
huángthe golden
shǐarrow(s)
zhēnpersistence
promising

Nine in the second place means: One kills three foxes in the field And receives a yellow arrow. Perseverance brings good fortune.

Line 5

六五 君子維有解。吉。有孚于小人。

jūnnoble
young one
wéiin bondage
yǒu(still
jiěfreedom(s)
promising
yǒubeing
true
for
xiǎo(the) small
rénones

Six in the fifth place means: If only the superior man can deliver himself, It brings good fortune. Thus he proves to inferior men that he is in earnest.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramThunder LakeThe Arousing → The Joyous
Lower TrigramWater ThunderThe Deep → The Arousing

Yilin Verse

道理和得,人不相賊。君子往之,樂有利福。

The Way and reason are in accord; people do no harm to one another. The noble man proceeds thus, and joyfully receives blessings and fortune.

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

Commentary

Thunder over water dissolves into the lake resting within thunder — the willing responsiveness of following. The Way and principle are harmonized; people do not prey upon one another. The gentleman proceeds and finds joy with blessing. The verse describes a post-deliverance world where moral order has been restored and trust governs human relations. No thievery, no suspicion — only the mutual accord that allows genuine following. From Deliverance to Following, the thunder that once shattered bonds now rumbles gently within the lake of mutual delight. Release leads not to isolation but to a community where each follows the other in willing trust.

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