井 → 恆
Hexagram 48: The Well → Hexagram 32: Duration
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 4, 5).
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
方啄宣口，聖智仁厚。釋解倒懸，家國大安。
The square-mouthed one speaks plainly; sagely, wise, and deeply humane. He releases and unbinds those hung upside down; house and state attain great peace.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water drawn up through wood, the well nourishes through patient labor. A bird pecks open a wound to release what festers, and the sage applies wisdom and benevolence with generous skill. Those hanging upside down are freed from their bonds, and household and state both find great peace. The 'releasing the inverted' (釋解倒懸) is a classical metaphor for rescuing the suffering — Mencius used it to describe the people's longing for a liberator. From The Well to Duration, thunder and wind reinforce each other in perpetual motion. The well's curative function, applied with enduring consistency, becomes Heng's principle: steady, devoted action sustained over time transforms suffering into lasting stability.
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