震 → 節
Hexagram 51: The Arousing Thunder → Hexagram 60: Limitation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 4, 5).
Line 2
六二 震來厲。億喪貝。躋于九陵。勿逐。七日得。
Six in the second place means: Shock comes bringing danger. A hundred thousand times You lose your treasures And must climb the nine hills. Do not go in pursuit of them. After seven days you will get them back again.
Line 4
九四 震遂泥。
Nine in the fourth place means: Shock is mired.
Line 5
六五 震往來厲。意无喪有事。
Six in the fifth place means: Shock goes hither and thither. Danger. However, nothing at all is lost. Yet there are things to be done.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
東行西步,失其次舍。乾侯野井,昭君喪居。
North wind, lost on the road — snow covers all tracks. East, west, south, north — no door anywhere. Seeking shelter at a farmhouse, the farmhouse is locked. Only a bare pavilion remains, to hide from the darkening night.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder doubled meets water over lake: shock constrained into the boundaries of Limitation. The original verse reads: 'Going east and stepping west, losing one's lodging. At Qianhou, by a field-well — the lord of Lu has lost his home.' This alludes to Duke Zhao of Lu, who was driven from his state by the powerful Ji clan around 517 BC and wandered in exile, staying at Qianhou under Jin's jurisdiction. 'Field-well' (野井) marks the place where the Duke of Qi offered condolences — outside proper diplomatic space. From The Arousing to Limitation, water contained by the lake, the verse captures exile as a failure of limits: the ruler who could not limit his ministers' power loses everything. Limitation cuts both ways — the one who cannot set boundaries becomes defined by others'.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store