革 → 蠱
Hexagram 49: Revolution → Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4, 5, 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 2
六二 巳日乃革之。征吉无咎。
Six in the second place means: When one's own day comes, one may create revolution. Starting brings good fortune. No blame.
Line 4
九四 悔亡有孚。改命吉。
Nine in the fourth place means: Remorse disappears. Men believe him. Changing the form of government brings good fortune.
Line 5
九五 大人虎變。未占有孚。
Nine in the fifth place means: The great man changes like a tiger. Even before he questions the oracle He is believed.
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
鷹鷂欲食，雉兔困急。逃頭見尾，為害所賊。
The hawk and sparrowhawk hunger for prey; pheasant and rabbit are hard-pressed. Fleeing head-first, tail exposed; harmed by the very peril they sought to escape.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire within the lake yields to wind beneath the mountain — decay breeding beneath a still surface. Hawks and sparrowhawks hunger for prey; pheasants and hares are driven to desperation. Hiding the head exposes the tail; harm finds its mark regardless. Revolution has torn away protective cover, and what follows is the corruption of Decay: predators circle, and the prey cannot hide. The pheasant that ducks its head only reveals its tail — a vivid image of futile evasion. From Revolution to Work on the Decayed, the transformation warns that after upheaval, old corruption resurfaces as predation. The vulnerable discover that revolution removed their shelter without removing their enemies.
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