井 → 噬嗑
Hexagram 48: The Well → Hexagram 21: Biting Through
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 6 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
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 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 4
六四 井甃无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: The well is being lined. No blame.
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.
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
延陵聰敏，樂聽太史。雞鳴大國，姜氏受福。
Yanling, keen and discerning, delights in hearing the Grand Historian's music. The cock crows in the great state; the house of Jiang receives its blessing.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water drawn up through wood, the well's depth rewards those who know how to listen. Ji Zha of Yanling, the most discerning ear of the Spring and Autumn period, listens to the Grand Historian's music and perceives the fate of nations in each melody. The rooster crows in the great state — an allusion to the Jiang clan of Qi, whose dawn-cry signals renewal. The Jiang house receives blessing. Ji Zha's famous musical evaluations, preserved in the Zuo Zhuan, diagnosed each state's character through its songs. From The Well to Biting Through, fire and thunder combine to enforce clarity. The well's hidden truth, once drawn to the surface by a discerning listener, becomes the sharp judgment that cuts through obstruction.
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