鼎 → 家人
Hexagram 50: The Cauldron → Hexagram 37: The Family
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4, 5).
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 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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
南上泰山，困於此桑。左砂右石，牛馬无食。
Climbing south to Mount Tai, trapped among the mulberry trees. Sand on the left, stones on the right; ox and horse find nothing to eat.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire over wind fills the cauldron; wind emerges from fire to govern the household. Climbing south to Mount Tai, one becomes trapped among mulberry trees. Sand on the left, rocks on the right — oxen and horses find nothing to eat. The sacred mountain, which should represent cosmic order and imperial authority, here offers only entanglement and barren ground. The mulberry thicket snags the traveler; the sandy, stony terrain starves the livestock. From The Cauldron to The Family, the transformation reveals a household in crisis. Wind from fire should carry warmth outward, but here the family's journey leads only to exhaustion. The cauldron's nourishment cannot reach those lost on the mountain — provisions fail, and the domestic order that The Family demands remains unattainable.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store