革 → 漸
Hexagram 49: Revolution → Hexagram 53: Development
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 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 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
天馬五道，炎火久處。往來上下，非文釣已。衣衰絲麻，相隨在歌，凶惡如何。
The celestial horse runs five courses; the blazing fire lingers long. Going and coming, ascending and descending; this is no civil pursuit of the scholar's hook. Clad in mourning silk and hemp, following one another in lamentation; how dire the calamity.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire within the lake yields to wind above the mountain — Development, the gradual advance of a wild goose in steady stages. Heavenly horses traverse five paths; flames have long dwelt in this place. Going and coming, up and down, it is no ordinary angling that has ceased. One wears mourning garments of hemp and silk, following along in song — what evil could befall? This obscure verse resists easy parsing. The 'heavenly horses' may reference celestial movements; 'mourning garments' suggest ritual transition. From Revolution to Development, the gradual, step-by-step nature of true progress stands in tension with the verse's swirling imagery — some transformations are too complex for a single reading.
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