革 → 觀
Hexagram 49: Revolution → Hexagram 20: Contemplation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 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 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 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
飛不遠去，法為罔待，祿養未富。
It flies but does not go far; the law's net lies in wait. Salary and sustenance remain meager.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire within the lake rises to wind moving over the earth — Contemplation, the view from above. Yet the bird cannot fly far; laws and nets wait to entrap it. Salary and sustenance remain insufficient. Revolution promises liberation, but Contemplation reveals the limits of that freedom. The bird that should soar after its cage is broken finds new constraints: regulations, traps, and meager provisions. It can see the horizon but cannot reach it. From Revolution to Contemplation, the transformation discloses a sobering truth: the view after revolution may be wide, but the capacity to act on what one sees remains constrained. Freedom observed is not yet freedom lived.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store