既濟

Hexagram 47: Oppression → Hexagram 63: After Completion

Oppression
Lake / Water
既濟
After Completion
Water / Fire
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4).

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 2

九二 困于酒食。朱紱方來。利用享祀。征凶无咎。

kùnbeset
amidst
jiǔwine
shíand food
zhūthe scarlet
sashed nobles
fāngsuddenly
láiarrive
worthwhile
yòngand useful
xiǎngto offer up
the sacrifice + to give up this spirit
zhēnginitiative
xiōngbut

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。

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.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramLake WaterThe Joyous → The Deep
Lower TrigramWater FireThe Deep → The Clinging

Yilin Verse

雄雞不晨,雌雞且伸。志庇心離,三旅出哀。

The cock does not crow at dawn; the hen stretches and calls instead. Purpose is thwarted, the heart estranged; three companies set out in grief.

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

Commentary

A lake without water: the cock does not crow at dawn; the hen stretches instead. The will to shelter is present but the heart has departed. Three companies march out in mourning. The cock failing to crow while the hen rises directly invokes the 'pin ji si chen' omen from the Book of Documents: when the hen crows at dawn, the household is doomed. This signals the usurpation of proper roles, whether women seizing political control or subordinates overriding superiors. The 'heart departing' (xin li) means loyalty has fractured; the three armies that march do so in grief, not triumph. From Oppression to After Completion, water sits above fire in precarious balance. Everything appears settled, yet the warning from the hexagram is exactly this: complacency after completion breeds reversal. The rooster's silence is the first crack in what seemed whole.

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

Related Pages