井 → 觀
Hexagram 48: The Well → Hexagram 20: Contemplation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 6).
Line 2
九二 井谷射鮒。甕敝漏。
Nine in the second place means: At the wellhole one shoots fishes. The jug is broken and leaks.
Line 3
九三 井渫不食。為我心惻。可用汲。王明。並受其福。
Nine in the third place means: The well is cleaned, but no one drinks from it. This is my heart's sorrow, For one might draw from it. If the king were clear-minded, Good fortune might be enjoyed in common.
Line 6
上六 井收勿幕。有孚元吉。
Six at the top means: One draws from the well Without hindrance. It is dependable. Supreme good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
五岳四瀆，沾濡為德。行不失理，民賴恩福。
The five sacred peaks, the four great rivers; their moisture and nourishment become virtue. Acting without departing from principle, the people depend upon their gracious blessings.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water drawn up through wood, the well disperses nourishment to the community, and here that dispensation reaches cosmic scale. The Five Sacred Mountains and Four Great Rivers moisten the land as virtue; governance does not stray from principle, and the people rely on this grace for their blessings. The mountains and rivers represent the sacred geography of China — the framework within which all civilization unfolds. From The Well to Contemplation, wind moves across the earth, and the sage-king surveys his realm to set teachings. The well's local sustenance becomes Guan's panoramic view: virtue flowing outward like water from the heights, observed and emulated across the four directions.
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