解 → 明夷
Hexagram 40: Deliverance → Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4).
Line 1
初六 无咎。
Six at the beginning means: Without blame.
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
恪敬竟職，心不作慝。君明臣忠，民賴其福。
Reverent and devoted, he fulfills his office; his heart harbors no wickedness. The ruler is enlightened, the minister loyal; the people rely upon his blessings.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over water descends into fire hidden beneath the earth — the deliberate dimming of Darkening of the Light. Diligent and reverent, one fulfills one's duties completely, harboring no dark intent. The ruler is enlightened, the ministers loyal, and the people rely on their blessings. The verse describes the ideal of conscientious service under a just sovereign — a rare alignment of virtue at every level. From Deliverance to Darkening of the Light, the transformation carries an ironic undertone: this perfect harmony exists within a hexagram whose nature is concealment. Light enters the earth not to die but to preserve itself. Perhaps the verse whispers that such exemplary governance is itself a kind of protective concealment — virtue so quietly practiced that it endures.
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