井 → 小過
Hexagram 48: The Well → Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 5, 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 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 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 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.
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
十羊俱見，黃頭為首。歲美民安，國樂无咎。
Ten sheep appear together; the tawny-headed one leads as chief. The year is bountiful, the people at peace; the state rejoices, and there is no fault.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water drawn up through wood, the well supports the flock that gathers around it. Ten rams appear together, with the yellow-headed one as leader. The year is bountiful, the people are at peace, and the state enjoys happiness without blame. Yellow, the color of earth and the center, marks the leading ram as the properly positioned authority. The flock following its leader in a year of plenty captures the ideal of modest, orderly prosperity. From The Well to Small Exceeding, thunder above the mountain slightly oversteps the norm. The well's generosity, guided by the yellow ram's steady leadership, stays within the gentle excess of Xiaoguo: surpassing in courtesy, in frugality, in care — never in aggression or arrogance.
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