鼎 → 升
Hexagram 50: The Cauldron → Hexagram 46: Pushing Upward
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 4, 6).
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
安坐玉床，聽韶行觴。飲福萬歲，日受无疆。
Seated at ease on the jade couch, listening to the Shao music, passing the wine. Drinking blessings for ten thousand years; receiving bounty without limit, day upon day.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire over wind fills the cauldron; trees grow within the earth, steadily pushing upward. Seated peacefully on a jade throne, one listens to the Shao music and passes the wine cup. Blessings are drunk to ten thousand years, receiving boundless daily grace. The Shao music was Emperor Shun's sacred court music — Confucius heard it in Qi and 'for three months did not notice the taste of meat.' To listen to the Shao while enthroned means to inhabit the highest attainment of civilized governance. From The Cauldron to Pushing Upward, the transformation captures steady, organic ascent. Trees growing within the earth rise quietly but irresistibly. The cauldron's fire refines the offering; the Shao music sanctifies it — accumulated small virtues compound into lasting sovereignty.
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