益 → 隨
Hexagram 42: Increase → Hexagram 17: Following
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 4, 6).
Line 4
六四 中行。告公從。利用為依遷國。
Six in the fourth place means: If you walk in the middle And report the prince, He will follow. It furthers one to be used In the removal of the capital.
Line 6
上九 莫益之。或擊之。立心勿恆。凶。
Nine at the top means: He brings increase to no one. Indeed, someone even strikes him. He does not keep his heart constantly steady. Misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
卷領遁世，仁德不害。三聖攸同，周國茂興。
Rolling up the collar and withdrawing from the world, benevolent virtue suffers no harm. Three sages walk as one; the Zhou domain flourishes greatly.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind and thunder bestow increase, and the transformation leads to thunder resting within the lake — the willing responsiveness of Following. Wrapping their collars and withdrawing from the world, their benevolent virtue remains unharmed. Three sages share one purpose, and the Zhou state flourishes mightily. The 'wrapped collar' suggests a recluse who conceals himself in plain clothing, departing from worldly affairs. The 'three sages' are traditionally identified as the Duke of Zhou, Taigong, and the Duke of Shao — the triumvirate who guided the early Zhou dynasty to greatness. Their shared virtue elevated the state not through force but through moral authority. From Increase to Following, the dynamic is clear: when sages willingly subordinate themselves to a righteous cause, their very withdrawal from personal ambition creates the conditions for collective flourishing.
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