鼎 → 蠱
Hexagram 50: The Cauldron → Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 4).
Line 4
九四 鼎折足。覆公餗。其形渥。凶。
Nine in the fourth place means: The legs of the ting are broken. The prince's meal is spilled And his person is soiled. Misfortune. A man has a difficult and responsible task to which he is not adequate. Moreover, he does not devote himself to it with all his strength but goes about with inferior people; therefore the execution of the work fails. In this way he also incurs personal opprobrium. Confucius says about this line: "Weak character coupled with honored place, meager knowledge with large plans, limited powers with heavy responsibility, will seldom escape disaster. "
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
商人行旅，資无所有。貪貝逐利，留連玉帛。馭轅內安，公子何咎？
The merchant travels far, his capital all spent. Greedy for cowries, chasing profit, he lingers over jade and silk. Gripping the reins, at peace within; what fault befalls the young lord?
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire over wind fills the cauldron; wind stirs beneath the mountain, unsettling what has decayed. A merchant sets out on the road with no capital, yet craves jade and silk, chasing profit relentlessly. He lingers among treasures he cannot afford, reluctant to leave. Yet the verse pivots: 'controlling the reins and yoke, settled within — what fault has the young lord?' The merchant's greed is reined in before it destroys him. From The Cauldron to Work on the Decayed, the transformation reveals how unchecked appetite corrupts even legitimate enterprise. The mountain-over-wind of Gu signals inherited disorder that demands correction. The cauldron's fire must not feed aimless desire; the young lord's task is to restore discipline where his predecessors let standards rot.
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