鼎 → 噬嗑
Hexagram 50: The Cauldron → Hexagram 21: Biting Through
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3).
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 2
九二 鼎有實。我仇有疾。不我能即。吉。
Nine in the second place means: There is food in the ting. My comrades are envious, But they cannot harm me. Good fortune.
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
東行西步，失其次舍。乾侯野井，昭君喪居。
Walking east, stepping west; losing his lodging along the way. The lord of Qianhou at the wilderness well; the lord of Zhao loses his dwelling.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire over wind fills the cauldron; lightning and thunder bite through obstruction. Walking east then stepping west, one loses lodging after lodging — no place to rest. The verse names two exiles: 'Qianhou' evokes Duke Zhao of Lu, who was expelled and died in the town of Ganhou (乾侯) in 510 BC, drinking from wild wells in the wilderness. 'Zhao Jun' may refer to Duke Zhao himself — the legitimate ruler who lost his home. From The Cauldron to Biting Through, the transformation demands that what obstructs must be removed by force. Fire and thunder strike together to sever falsehood. The exiled lord wanders because the bite has not yet been applied — the obstruction in the court remains unjudged.
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