困 → 屯
Hexagram 47: Oppression → Hexagram 3: Difficulty at the Beginning
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4).
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 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 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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
匍匐出走，驚惶悼恐。白虎王孫，蓐收在後，居中无咎。
Crawling and fleeing in haste, startled and stricken with dread. The White Tiger, prince of beasts, with Rushou close behind. Holding to the center, there is no blame.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
A lake drained dry, and someone crawls out in terror, scrambling forward on hands and knees. The White Tiger, celestial guardian of the west, looms behind, and Rushou, the autumn deity of metal and execution, follows close. Yet the verse resolves: holding to the center, there is no blame. The White Tiger and Rushou together embody autumn's lethal energy, the force that ends the growing season and executes heaven's judgment. To flee in panic invites pursuit; to hold one's ground at the center neutralizes the threat. From Oppression to Difficulty at the Beginning, the image shifts from drained emptiness to storm clouds gathering with thunder. The terror is real, but so is the nascent potential: those who steady themselves amid fear find the seed of a new beginning.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store