困 → 乾
Hexagram 47: Oppression → Hexagram 1: The Creative
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 6).
Line 1
初六 臀困于株木。入于幽谷。三歲不覿。
Six at the beginning means: One sits oppressed under a bare tree And strays into a gloomy valley. For three years one sees nothing.
Line 3
六三 困于石。據于蒺蔾。入于其宮。不見其妻。凶。
Six in the third place means: A man permits himself to be oppressed by stone, And leans on thorns and thistles. He enters the house and does not see his wife. Misfortune.
Line 6
上六 困于葛藟。于臲卼。曰動悔有悔。征吉。
Six at the top means: He is oppressed by creeping vines. He moves uncertainly and says, "Movement brings remorse. " If one feels remorse over this and makes a start, Good fortune comes.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
烏鵲食穀，張口受哺。蒙被恩德，長大成就。柔順利貞，君臣合好。
Crows and magpies feed on grain, opening their mouths to receive nourishment. Cloaked in grace and kindness, they grow and achieve greatness. Gentle and yielding, faithful and true; lord and minister join in harmony.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
A lake drained of water marks Oppression, yet crows and magpies feed on grain, mouths open to receive nourishment. Sheltered by grace, they grow and flourish. The verse unfolds as an allegory of patronage: the helpless fledgling, sustained by generosity, matures into something capable. Compliance and constancy bind ruler and minister in mutual trust. From Oppression to the Creative, the transformation is striking: what begins in dependency and exhaustion ends in self-generating initiative. The heaven-over-heaven image of Qian means ceaseless self-renewal. The bird that once begged for food now rides the wind on its own wings. Oppression does not destroy potential; it incubates it, provided one receives aid with humility and repays it with steadfast virtue.
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