升 → 隨
Hexagram 46: Pushing Upward → Hexagram 17: Following
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
Line 1
初六 允升大吉。
Six at the beginning means: Pushing upward that meets with confidence Brings great good fortune.
Line 2
九二 孚乃利用禴。无咎。
Nine in the second place means: If one is sincere, It furthers one to bring even a small offering. No blame.
Line 3
九三 升虛邑。
Nine in the third place means: One pushes upward into an empty city.
Line 4
六四 王用亨于岐山。吉。无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: The king offers him Mount Ch'i. Good fortune. No blame.
Line 5
六五 貞吉升階。
Six in the fifth place means: Perseverance brings good fortune. One pushes upward by steps.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
久陰霖雨，塗行泥潦。商人休止，市空无有。
Long rains of yin and gloom; the roads run thick with mud. The merchants cease their trade; the market stands empty, with nothing to be had.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wood grows within the earth, but prolonged yin rains soak the roads into impassable mud and mire. Merchants halt their journeys; the marketplace stands deserted, with nothing to buy and nothing to sell. The image is economic paralysis brought on by relentless weather: endless rain chokes commerce, isolates communities, and renders all movement futile. Lake over thunder, the image of Following, suggests yielding to the natural rhythm rather than forcing action against hostile conditions. From Pushing Upward to Following, the ascending impulse must learn to accommodate obstruction. When the roads are flooded, the wise merchant stops and waits for the sky to clear rather than pushing through mud to certain ruin.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store