鼎 → 坎
Hexagram 50: The Cauldron → Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 3, 4, 5, 6).
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 5
六五 鼎黃耳金鉉。利貞。
Six in the fifth place means: The ting has yellow handles, golden carrying rings. Perseverance furthers.
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
六人俱行，各遺其囊。黃鵠失珠，无以為明。
Six men travel together, each having lost his bag. The yellow swan has lost its pearl and has no light to see by.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire over wind fills the cauldron; water upon water doubles the abyss. Six travelers walk together, each losing their pack along the way. A golden swan drops its pearl and has nothing left to shine by. The verse depicts collective loss — not one person's misfortune but an entire company stripped of their belongings, their guiding light extinguished. The 'yellow swan' (huanghu) losing its luminous pearl suggests wisdom or virtue lost, leaving only darkness. From The Cauldron to The Abysmal, the transformation plunges the cauldron's fire into water's depths. What was refined and radiant sinks into danger. Six people losing their way together compounds the peril — in the doubled abyss, there is no one left to illuminate the path.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store