革 → 震
Hexagram 49: Revolution → Hexagram 51: The Arousing Thunder
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 3, 5).
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 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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
子鉏執麟，《春秋》作元。陰聖將終，尼父悲心。
Cobwebs fill the temple hall; bells and drums are silent. A broken stele lies toppled — its moss-covered characters nearly illegible.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire within the lake gives way to doubled thunder — the Arousing, where shock upon shock jolts the world awake. The original verse reads: 'Zichushang captured the qilin; the Spring and Autumn chronicle was composed. The sage's era was ending; Father Ni grieved in his heart.' In 481 BC, the charioteer Zichushang captured a qilin during a hunt in the Great Marsh. Confucius identified the wounded creature and wept: 'My Way is exhausted!' This event traditionally marks the end of the Spring and Autumn Annals. From Revolution to the Arousing, the transformation captures the ultimate shock: even revolution cannot save a dying era. The thunder that should signal renewal instead tolls a sage's grief.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store