解 → 鼎
Hexagram 40: Deliverance → Hexagram 50: The Cauldron
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 3, 6).
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 6
上六 公用射隼于高墉之上。獲之无不利。
Six at the top means: The prince shoots at a hawk on a high wall. He kills it. Everything serves to further.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
行行窘步，次宿方舍。居安不懼，姬姜何憂？
Step by weary step, halting and stumbling; at last he finds an inn to rest. Dwelling in peace and feeling no fear — what should the Ji and Jiang clans worry about?
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over water refines into fire above wind — the transformative vessel of the Cauldron. Trudging step by labored step, one finally finds lodging at the next station. Settled in safety, no longer afraid — what have the noble clans of Ji and Jiang to worry about? Ji and Jiang are the two great surname groups of the Zhou aristocracy: Ji (the royal house) and Jiang (the Taigong's line, including Qi). The verse reassures the weary traveler that rest comes at last. From Deliverance to The Cauldron, exhausting movement gives way to the sacred vessel that transforms raw ingredients into nourishment. The journey's hardship was the fire; the arrival is the offering.
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