井 → 大壯
Hexagram 48: The Well → Hexagram 34: Great Power
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 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 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
公孫之政，惠而不煩。喬子相國，終身无患。
The governance of Gongsun: generous yet never burdensome. With Qiaozi as minister of state, one lives free of trouble for life.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water drawn up through wood, the well's governance lies in steady service. The governance of Gongsun was benevolent without being burdensome — this echoes the description of Zi Chan of Zheng, whose administration Confucius praised as 'beneficent to the people.' Qiaozi served as minister of state and lived his entire life without calamity. The verse celebrates the rarest political achievement: a long career of competent governance that attracts no resentment. From The Well to Great Power, thunder roars above heaven with irresistible force. The well's quiet utility, channeled through Dazhuang's explosive strength, shows that true power is benevolent administration sustained until it becomes unchallengeable — not through aggression but through earned trust.
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