困 → 剝
Hexagram 47: Oppression → Hexagram 23: Splitting Apart
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4, 5).
Line 2
九二 困于酒食。朱紱方來。利用享祀。征凶无咎。
Nine in the second place means: One is oppressed while at meat and drink. The man with the scarlet knee bands is just coming. It furthers one to offer sacrifice. To set forth brings misfortune. No blame.
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 4
九四 來徐徐。困于金車。吝。有終。
Nine in the fourth place means: He comes very quietly, oppressed in a golden carriage. Humiliation, but the end is reached.
Line 5
九五 劓刖。困于赤紱。乃徐有說。利用祭祀。
Nine in the fifth place means: His nose and feet are cut off. Oppression at the hands of the man with the purple knee bands. Joy comes softly. It furthers one to make offerings and libations.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
明德孔嘉，萬歲无虧。駕龍巡狩，王得安所。
Bright virtue exceedingly fine, ten thousand years without diminishment. Riding the dragon on a royal tour, the king finds a place of rest.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
A lake without water, yet illustrious virtue shines with utmost excellence, enduring ten thousand years without diminishment. A dragon chariot carries the sage-king on his inspection tour, and the sovereign finds his place of rest. The verse evokes the legendary sage-kings, perhaps the Yellow Emperor riding his dragon or Emperor Shun touring the south. Their moral radiance transcends any earthly oppression, sustained by virtue rather than by circumstance. From Oppression to Splitting Apart, the mountain rests upon the earth, its substance slowly eroding from below. The ruler secures his foundation by 'enriching those below to stabilize the dwelling.' Even as the structure strips away, the virtue enshrined within it remains intact, its brilliance outlasting the material form.
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