夬 → 升
Hexagram 43: Breakthrough → Hexagram 46: Pushing Upward
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 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 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
倔傀加俄，前後相違。言如鱉咳，語不可知。
Stumbling and contradictory; front and back at odds. Speech like a turtle's cough; the words cannot be understood.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Lake risen above heaven sinks into the wood growing within the earth. Hunched and stumbling, contradicting oneself at every turn. Speech comes out like a turtle's cough — words that no one can understand. The figure is grotesque: a body twisted, tongue garbled, logic incoherent. Nothing this person says or does achieves its intended effect. From Breakthrough to Pushing Upward, the decisive clarity of the lake should channel into the steady, organic growth of wood rising through earth. But the verse inverts this completely: instead of measured ascent, there is confusion and failure. The tree that should push upward in patient increments is here a gnarled, voiceless thing. Growth without clarity of purpose becomes mere contortion.
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