Hexagram 40: Deliverance → Hexagram 4: Youthful Folly

Deliverance
Thunder / Water
Youthful Folly
Mountain / Water
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 4, 6).

Line 4

九四 解而拇。朋至斯孚。

jiěrelease
éryour
big toe
péng(when) companion
zhìapproach
(in
trust

Nine in the fourth place means: Deliver yourself from your great toe. Then the companion comes, And him you can trust.

Line 6

上六 公用射隼于高墉之上。獲之无不利。

gōng(the) duke
yòngtakes
shè(his) aim at
sǔn(a
up on
gāo(a
yōngbattlement
zhī...'s
shàngpeak
huò(to) succeed(ing)
zhī(is) here
without
doubt
worthwhile

Six at the top means: The prince shoots at a hawk on a high wall. He kills it. Everything serves to further.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramThunder MountainThe Arousing → Keeping Still
Lower TrigramWater Water

Yilin Verse

防輿疲駟,不任衘轡。君子服之,談何容易。

A war carriage with weary steeds; they cannot bear the bit and bridle. The noble man undertakes the task — how easily said, how hard to do.

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

Commentary

Thunder over water dissolves into the mountain spring of youthful folly. A war chariot with broken crossbar and exhausted horses can no longer bear the reins. Even a gentleman who undertakes this task must concede — it is far from easy. The verse describes capability exceeded by burden: the vehicle of governance has deteriorated beyond what any driver can manage. Worn harness and spent steeds answer to no hand. From Deliverance to Youthful Folly, the transformation is sobering: the release from crisis does not guarantee competence. The spring emerging beneath the mountain has not yet learned its course; freedom without skill produces new confusion rather than progress.

The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store

Related Pages