大畜

Hexagram 47: Oppression → Hexagram 26: Great Taming

Oppression
Lake / Water
大畜
Great Taming
Mountain / Heaven
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 5, 6).

Line 1

初六 臀困于株木。入于幽谷。三歲不覿。

túnwith rump
kùnbeset
by
zhūcane
of wood
entering
into
yōuthe gloomy
valley
sānfor three
suìyears
not
覿seen face to face

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。

kùnbeset
by
shístone
seize
upon
thorns
brambles
entering
into
his
gōnghouse
but not
jiànseeing
his
wife
xiōngunfortunate

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。

láiapproaching
slowly
so slowly
kùnbeset
in
jīnmetal
chēchariot
lìnbut the
yǒuhas
zhōngan end

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。

nose cut off
yuèand feet cut off
kùnbeset
by
chìthe blush
sashed ministers
nǎiand only then
slowly
yǒugetting
shuōrelief
worthwhile
yòngand useful
to give
and a

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.

Line 6

上六 困于葛藟。于臲卼。曰動悔有悔。征吉。

kùnbeset
by
creeping
lěiand vines
proceeding
nièunsteadiliness
and awkwardly(ness)
yuēand
dòngthat action
huǐis
yǒuto have
huǐthe regret(s)
zhēngand expedite
is promising

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

Upper TrigramLake MountainThe Joyous → Keeping Still
Lower TrigramWater HeavenThe Deep → The Creative

Yilin Verse

築室合歡,千里无患。周公萬年,佑我二人。

Building a home in shared delight, a thousand leagues free of trouble. The Duke of Zhou for ten thousand years, protecting us both together.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

A lake without water, but here a house is built for shared rejoicing, and for a thousand li around there is no trouble. The Duke of Zhou's blessings endure ten thousand years, protecting 'the two of us.' The 'two persons' likely refers to the partnership between the Duke of Zhou and his royal charge, King Cheng, or more broadly to the bond between loyal minister and young sovereign. Building a house together is both literal construction and metaphorical state-building. From Oppression to Great Taming, heaven stored within the mountain, the gentleman studies the words and deeds of the ancients to accumulate virtue. The Duke of Zhou's institutional legacy, his ritual system, his legal code, is precisely this accumulated wisdom, transforming present oppression into enduring order.

The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store

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