困 → 明夷
Hexagram 47: Oppression → Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
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 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
邃氣作雲，蒙覆大君。塞聰閉明，殷人賈傷。
Noxious vapors form clouds, cloaking and covering the great lord. Blocking his hearing and shutting his eyes; the people of Yin suffer ruin and harm.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
A lake without water, and dark vapors condense into clouds that smother the great sovereign. His ears are blocked, his eyes sealed shut: the Yin people suffer injury in their commerce. The verse describes a ruler enveloped in murk, cut off from information, while his merchants and subjects pay the price. 'Yin people' directly names the Shang dynasty's populace, famous as traders (the word for 'merchant,' shang ren, derives from them). The 'dark vapor covering the lord' recalls the blindness of the last Shang kings. From Oppression to Darkening of the Light, fire sinks beneath the earth. The gentleman governs the multitude by using dimness to preserve his inner light. When the sovereign himself is darkened, the wise must hide their brightness to survive.
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