夬 → 遯
Hexagram 43: Breakthrough → Hexagram 33: Retreat
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 6).
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 6
上六 无號。終有凶。
Six at the top means: No cry. In the end misfortune comes.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
樹表為壇，相與期言。午中不會，寵名棄廢。
They raised a tree to mark the altar, and pledged to meet with spoken vows. At noon the other does not appear; the honored name is cast aside.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Lake risen above heaven recedes into heaven rising above the mountain. A tree is stripped and made into an altar; they make a solemn appointment to meet there. But at noon the other party does not appear — the honored name is abandoned and wasted. The stripped tree echoes the Maling Pass inscription, but here the context is a failed oath rather than a military trap. The altar-tree stands as witness to a promise broken, and the one who waited is left with nothing but the disgrace of misplaced trust. From Breakthrough to Retreat, decisive engagement gives way to strategic withdrawal. Heaven above the mountain draws upward and away; the gentleman distances himself from petty men. The verse suggests that sometimes the only resolution is recognizing that the appointment will never be kept.
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