鼎 → 節
Hexagram 50: The Cauldron → Hexagram 60: Limitation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 5, 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 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
安民呼池，玉柸大按。泉如白蜜，一色獲願。
The people rest at ease beside the pool; the jade cup presses down in grand ceremony. The spring flows white as honey; in one draught, every wish is fulfilled.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire over wind fills the cauldron; water rests above the lake in Limitation. 'The people rest at ease by the pool,' jade cups arrayed for a grand feast. The spring flows white as honey, and with one uniform blessing, all wishes are fulfilled. The verse paints an almost paradisiacal scene: communal rest beside a clear pool, precious vessels set out, a sweet spring providing abundance, and universal contentment. The 'spring like white honey' evokes a miraculous source — nature providing without human labor, as in the legends of blessed springs. From The Cauldron to Limitation, the transformation reveals that true abundance comes through proper measure. Water above the lake sets its own level; the cauldron portions its nourishment wisely. The sweetest spring satisfies precisely because it flows within natural limits.
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