損 → 明夷
Hexagram 41: Decrease → Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 6).
Line 2
九二 利貞。征凶。弗損益之。
Nine in the second place means: Perseverance furthers. To undertake something brings misfortune. Without decreasing oneself, One is able to bring increase to others.
Line 3
六三 三人行。則損一人。一人行。則得其友。
Six in the third place means: When three people journey together, Their number decreases by one. When one man journeys alone, He finds a companion.
Line 6
上九 弗損益之。无咎。貞吉。利有攸往。得臣无家。
Nine at the top means: If one is increased without depriving others, There is no blame. Perseverance brings good fortune. It furthers one to undertake something. One obtains servants But no longer has a separate home.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
穆違百里，使孟奮武。將軍師戰，敗於殽口。
Duke Mu defied Baili Xi; sending Meng to take up arms. The general led his troops to battle; defeated at the pass of Xiao.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Mountain above lake becomes earth above fire — Darkening of the Light, where brilliance is buried underground. Duke Mu of Qin defied Baili Xi's counsel and dispatched Meng Mingshi to wage war. The generals led the army into battle and were defeated at the Pass of Xiao. According to the Zuo Zhuan, in 627 BC the elder statesman Jian Shu wept at the army's departure, predicting disaster. The Qin force was ambushed by Jin troops in the narrow Xiao gorge; all three commanders were captured. From Decrease to Darkening of the Light, the mountain's wisdom sinks beneath the earth. Light enters the ground — the counsel of the wise is ignored, and disaster follows. Decrease here is the ruler's refusal to diminish his ambition when the advisor's warning demanded restraint.
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