鼎 → 臨
Hexagram 50: The Cauldron → Hexagram 19: Approach
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 6).
Line 1
初六 鼎顛趾。利出否。得妾以其子。无咎。
Six at the beginning means: A ting with legs upturned. Furthers removal of stagnating stuff. One takes a concubine for the sake of her son. No blame.
Line 3
九三 鼎耳革。其行塞。雉膏不食。方雨虧悔。終吉。
Nine in the third place means: The handle of the ting is altered. One is impeded in his way of life. The fat of the pheasant is not eaten. Once rain falls, remorse is spent. Good fortune comes in the end.
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. "
Line 6
上九 鼎玉鉉。大吉。无不利。
Nine at the top means: The ting has rings of jade. Great good fortune. Nothing that would not act to further.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
火井暘谷，揚芒生角。犯歷天門，闚見太微。登上玉床，家易共公。
The fire well at Yanggu sends forth its brilliance, sprouting horns of light. Transgressing the calendar, it passes through the Heavenly Gate; peering into the Taiwei enclosure. Ascending the jade throne, the house is exalted to that of a duke.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire over wind fills the cauldron; the lake rests above the earth as sovereign authority descends. A fire well blazes at the Valley of the Rising Sun, radiating horns of light. The ascent breaches the Gate of Heaven itself and peers into the Supreme Palace enclosure — Taiwei, the celestial court of the emperor in Chinese star-lore. Mounting the Jade Throne, the household transforms its lord into a duke. This is a vision of cosmic enthronement: terrestrial fire ascends through solar mythology to the stellar court. From The Cauldron to Approach, the transformation channels heavenly fire into earthly governance. The cauldron's flame rises to become sovereign illumination, and Approach's lake-beneath-earth brings that authority down to the people.
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