革 → 歸妹
Hexagram 49: Revolution → Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 5).
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 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
鴟鴞破斧，沖人危殆。賴旦忠德，轉禍為福，傾危復立。
The owl shatters the axe; it assails the people with peril. Relying on Dan's loyal virtue, disaster is transformed into blessing; the toppling is set upright again.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire within the lake transforms into thunder above the lake — the Marrying Maiden, where a younger sister follows the elder in an unequal union. Owl and hawk shatter the axe; the people face mortal danger. Thanks to the Duke of Zhou's loyal virtue, disaster turns to fortune, and what was toppling stands upright again. This directly quotes two Shijing poems from the Bin Odes: 'Chixiao' (The Owl), the Duke of Zhou's plea to King Cheng, and 'Po Fu' (Broken Axe), celebrating the eastern campaign against the rebels Guan and Cai. The Duke salvaged a dynasty on the verge of collapse. From Revolution to the Marrying Maiden, the resonance is clear: loyalty in a subordinate position — the younger sibling serving the elder — can rescue an entire state from ruin.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store