井 → 泰
Hexagram 48: The Well → Hexagram 11: Peace
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 5).
Line 1
初六 井泥不食。舊井无禽。
Six at the beginning means: One does not drink the mud of the well. No animals come to an old well.
Line 5
九五 井冽。寒泉食。
Nine in the fifth place means: In the well there is a clear, cold spring From which one can drink.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
本根不固。華葉落去，更為孤嫗。
The roots are not firm. Blossoms and leaves fall away; she becomes a lonely old woman.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water drawn up through wood, the well depends on sound structure — but here the roots have failed. When the root is not firm, blossoms and leaves fall away, leaving only a withered old woman. The botanical metaphor is precise: a tree whose roots cannot reach the water table drops its foliage and dies from the crown down. From The Well to Peace, heaven and earth exchange freely, producing flourishing life. Yet this verse inverts the promise: the well's nourishment never reaches the roots, and so the great communion of Tai — where high and low interpenetrate — cannot take form. Without foundation, even the most auspicious configuration collapses into barrenness.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store