革 → 巽
Hexagram 49: Revolution → Hexagram 57: The Gentle Wind
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 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 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 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
兔聚東廊，眾犬俱獵。圍缺不成，无所能獲。
Rabbits gather in the eastern corridor; many hounds hunt together. The ring is broken, the encirclement fails; nothing can be caught.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire within the lake doubles into wind upon wind — the Gentle, where persistent penetration achieves what force cannot. Rabbits gather in the eastern corridor; a pack of dogs gives chase. But the encirclement has a gap and fails to close; nothing can be caught. The Gentle's doubled wind should infiltrate every crack, but here the hunters leave an opening. The dogs pursue but the net is incomplete — a failure of coordination, not of effort. From Revolution to the Gentle, the transformation reveals that after upheaval, gentle persistence must be thorough to succeed. A revolution with holes in its execution lets the quarry escape through the very gaps left by incomplete planning.
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