井 → 兌
Hexagram 48: The Well → Hexagram 58: The Joyous Lake
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4).
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 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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
六虵奔走，俱入茂草。驚於長注，畏懼啄口。
Six serpents flee in haste, all diving into the thick grass. Startled by the long-billed bird, they fear and dread its stabbing mouth.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water drawn up through wood, the well's still surface belies what stirs below. Six snakes bolt in every direction, all diving into thick grass. Startled by a long stream of water, they fear the pecking mouth that hunts them. The sudden flight of serpents into concealment suggests a moment of alarm where hidden dangers scatter rather than confront the threat. The 'pecking mouth' may be a predatory bird — a crane or heron that hunts along waterways. From The Well to The Joyous, paired lakes invite open exchange. Yet the well's hidden serpents flee from Dui's openness: what thrived in concealment cannot survive in the joyful transparency of two lakes reflecting each other. Exposure itself becomes the remedy.
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