鼎 → 歸妹
Hexagram 50: The Cauldron → Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 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 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
侯叔興起，季子富有。照臨楚國，蠻荊是安。
Lord Shu rises in prominence; the young lord attains great wealth. His light shines over the land of Chu; the southern barbarians of Jing are brought to peace.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire over wind fills the cauldron; thunder above the lake consummates the Marrying Maiden. The junior lord Shu rises to prominence, and the younger son grows wealthy. Their light illuminates the state of Chu, bringing peace to the Man and Jing barbarian lands. The verse celebrates the founding legend of Chu: tradition holds that the Chu royal house descended from a junior branch that rose from obscurity in the southern wilderness to build a great kingdom. 'Hou Shu' and 'Ji Zi' — cadet princes — embody the principle that younger sons may surpass their elders. From The Cauldron to the Marrying Maiden, the transformation captures how a subordinate element, properly placed, generates unexpected power. Thunder above the lake: the younger moves the elder, and the periphery outshines the center.
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