革 → 損
Hexagram 49: Revolution → Hexagram 41: Decrease
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
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 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 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
噂噂所言，莫如我垣。懽樂堅固，可以長安。
Let them whisper what they will; none compares to my wall. Joyful and strong, it can bring lasting peace.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire within the lake yields to the mountain above the lake — Decrease, where the lower is reduced to enrich the upper. People whisper and gossip, but none compares to my wall. Joy and contentment are solid and firm; one may dwell in lasting peace. The wall here serves as both physical shelter and metaphor for boundaries: let others talk, but behind my wall I am safe. Decrease asks for willing sacrifice, and this verse answers with domestic contentment — what is given up in outward standing is recovered in inner stability. From Revolution to Decrease, the transformation reveals that after upheaval, sometimes the wisest course is to build a wall, reduce exposure, and find joy in what remains.
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