井 → 剝
Hexagram 48: The Well → Hexagram 23: Splitting Apart
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 5).
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 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
媒妁先明，雖期不得。齊女長子，亂其紀綱。
The matchmaker spoke clearly at first; yet despite the appointed time, she is not obtained. The eldest daughter of Qi throws the bonds of propriety into disorder.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water drawn up through wood, the well depends on proper channels — yet here the matchmaker spoke clearly but the match still failed. Despite agreed terms, the intended bride is never obtained. Then the eldest daughter of Qi disrupts the moral order entirely. The verse echoes the Shijing's Mang ode, where courtship bypassing ritual propriety leads to ruin. The 'woman of Qi' who disorders the household's bonds recalls several Spring and Autumn consorts whose illicit influence shattered ruling houses. From The Well to Splitting Apart, the mountain crumbles upon the earth. The well's careful structure is stripped away layer by layer, as improper unions erode the foundation until nothing remains but bare ground.
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