井 → 中孚
Hexagram 48: The Well → Hexagram 61: Inner Truth
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 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 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 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
頃迭不行，弱足善僵。孟縶无良，失其寵光。
The team stumbles and will not go; weak legs are prone to collapse. Mengzhi lacks virtue; he loses his favor and his light.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water drawn up through wood, the well's virtue depends on steady footing — but here the wheels will not turn, and weakened legs buckle easily. Meng Zhi lacked goodness, and he lost his splendor and favor. The name Meng Zhi may refer to a historical figure whose moral failings led to his fall from grace; the 'fettered' (縶) in his name suggests one who was hobbled or constrained. The paralysis of the wheels and legs echoes the well's recurring motif of dysfunction at the base. From The Well to Inner Truth, wind moves above the lake with sincerity. The well's broken mechanism meets Zhongfu's demand for authentic trustworthiness: without inner truth as foundation, no outward position can be maintained.
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