夬 → 剝
Hexagram 43: Breakthrough → Hexagram 23: Splitting Apart
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4, 5).
Line 1
初九 壯于前趾。往不勝為咎。
Nine at the beginning means: Mighty in the forward-striding toes. When one goes and is not equal to the task, One makes a mistake.
Line 2
九二 惕號。莫夜有戎。勿恤。
Nine in the second place means: A cry of alarm. Arms at evening and at night. Fear nothing.
Line 4
九四 臀无膚。其行次且。牽羊悔亡。聞言不信。
Nine in the fourth place means: There is no skin on his thighs, And walking comes hard. If a man were to let himself be led like a sheep, Remorse would disappear. But if these words are heard They will not be believed.
Line 5
九五 莧陸夬夬。中行无咎。
Nine in the fifth place means: In dealing with weeds, Firm resolution is necessary. Walking in the middle Remains free of blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
隨時春草，舊枝葉起。扶踈條桃，長大美盛，華沃鑠舒。
Spring grass follows the season; old branches put forth new leaves. The peach tree spreads its luxuriant boughs, growing tall, splendid, and grand; its blossoms rich and resplendent.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Lake risen above heaven settles onto the mountain resting upon earth. Spring grass returns in season, old branches put forth new leaves. Peach trees spread their luxuriant boughs, growing tall and magnificent, blossoms radiant and lush. The imagery is purely vernal — renewal so abundant it seems impossible that anything was ever barren. From Breakthrough to Splitting Apart, the pairing is deeply paradoxical. Splitting Apart's image is the mountain eroding upon the earth, all yang lines stripped away except one. Yet the verse fills this pattern with spring's return, suggesting that even at the moment of greatest structural loss, nature's regenerative power is already at work. The old wood splits, and from the split, new growth emerges more vigorous than before.
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