革 → 否
Hexagram 49: Revolution → Hexagram 12: Standstill
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 6).
Line 1
初九 鞏用黃牛之革。
Nine at the beginning means: Wrapped in the hide of a yellow cow.
Line 3
九三 征凶貞厲。革言三就。有孚。
Nine in the third place means: Starting brings misfortune. Perseverance brings danger. When talk of revolution has gone the rounds three times, One may commit himself, And men will believe him.
Line 6
上六 君子豹變。小人革面。征凶。居貞吉。
Six at the top means: The superior man changes like a panther. The inferior man molts in the face. Starting brings misfortune. To remain persevering brings good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
伯夷叔齊，貞廉之師。以德防患，憂禍不存。
The great stone does not move; the rushing current flows around it. The clear stream reflects the moon; muddy water muddies only itself.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire within the lake transforms into heaven above earth — Standstill, where the two realms refuse to mingle. The original verse names Boyi and Shuqi, paragons of incorruptible integrity who refused to eat Zhou grain and starved on Mount Shouyang. They are called 'teachers of steadfast purity,' using virtue to prevent calamity so that worry and misfortune cannot take root. From Revolution to Standstill, the transformation captures a principled withdrawal: when the world turns upside down, the truly virtuous do not compromise but separate themselves entirely. Boyi and Shuqi chose death over moral contamination — the ultimate Standstill, where heaven and earth part ways rather than accept a tainted union.
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