Hexagram 47: Oppression → Hexagram 4: Youthful Folly

Oppression
Lake / Water
Youthful Folly
Mountain / Water
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

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

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 Water

Yilin Verse

庇盧不明,使孔德妨。女孽亂國,虐政傷仁。

A shelter dim and unlit, obstructing Confucius's virtue. A woman's mischief disorders the state; tyrannical rule injures benevolence.

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

Commentary

A lake without water, the dwelling darkened, its shelter offering no clarity. Virtue of the highest order is obstructed. The verse alludes to the incident when the state of Qi sent a troupe of female musicians to Lu, captivating Duke Ding and his minister Ji Huanzi so thoroughly that court business was abandoned for days. Confucius, whose moral authority (kong de, 'great virtue') was thereby undermined, departed Lu in disappointment. A woman's seductive influence disorders the state; cruel governance wounds benevolence. From Oppression to Youthful Folly, a spring emerges beneath a mountain but gropes in darkness. When those in power are beguiled by spectacle, wisdom goes unheeded and the state stumbles blindly forward, its judgment cloaked in fog.

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