萃 → 復
Hexagram 45: Gathering Together → Hexagram 24: Return
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5).
Line 1
初六 有孚不終。乃亂乃萃。若號一握為笑。勿恤。往无咎。
Six at the beginning means: If you are sincere, but not to the end, There will sometimes be confusion, sometimes gathering together. If you call out, Then after one grasp of the hand you can laugh again. Regret not. Going is without blame.
Line 4
九四 大吉无咎。
Nine in the fourth place means: Great good fortune. No blame.
Line 5
九五 萃有位。无咎匪孚。元永貞。悔亡。
Nine in the fifth place means: If in gathering together one has position, This brings no blame. If there are some who are not yet sincerely in the work, Sublime and enduring perseverance is needed. Then remorse disappears.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
大斧破木，讒佞敗國。東間梁王，禍及三子。晉人亂邑，懷公出走。
The great axe splits the timber; slander and flattery ruin the state. In the east, King Liang is betrayed; disaster reaches his three sons. The men of Jin throw the city into chaos; Duke Huai flees in exile.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Lake upon earth gives way to thunder returning within the earth, the first stirring of Return. A great axe splits the timber; slander and sycophancy ruin the state. The verse names specific disruptions: intrigue at the court of the King of Liang brings disaster upon three sons, and the people of Jin throw the capital into turmoil, forcing Duke Huai to flee. Duke Huai of Jin, son of Duke Hui, was placed on the throne with Qin support but proved intractable, refusing to honor the agreement to return hostages. When Chong Er returned with Qin's backing, Duke Huai fled north and was killed. From Gathering to Return, the return journey begins with violence: the old order must be axed apart before the single yang line can re-enter the earth.
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