困 → 小畜
Hexagram 47: Oppression → Hexagram 9: Small Taming
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 6).
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 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 6
上六 困于葛藟。于臲卼。曰動悔有悔。征吉。
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
Yilin Verse
開廓洪緒，王迹所基。報以八子，功得俟時。
Opening vast foundations, the base upon which a king's legacy rests. Repaid with eight sons, whose merit awaits its appointed time.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
A lake without water, yet here the foundations of kingship are being laid. The verse speaks of opening vast territories and establishing the origins from which a royal lineage springs. The phrase 'rewarded with eight sons' likely alludes to the legend of King Wen's prolific descendants, traditionally credited with producing numerous worthy heirs who anchored the Zhou feudal system. Merit is stored up and waits for the proper season to manifest. From Oppression to Small Taming, wind rides above heaven, gently restraining creative force. The small accumulation of virtue, the patient cultivation of moral capital across generations, becomes the infrastructure of empire. What seems like waiting is actually the slow, invisible work of building something that will outlast the oppression.
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