艮 → 屯
Hexagram 52: Keeping Still Mountain → Hexagram 3: Difficulty at the Beginning
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 5, 6).
Line 1
初六 艮其趾。无咎。利永貞。
Six at the beginning means: Keeping his toes still. No blame. Continued perseverance furthers.
Line 3
九三 艮其限。列其夤。厲熏心。
Nine in the third place means: Keeping his hips still. Making his sacrum stiff. Dangerous. The heart suffocates.
Line 5
六五 艮其輔。言有序。悔亡。
Six in the fifth place means: Keeping his jaws still. The words have order. Remorse disappears.
Line 6
上九 敦艮吉。
Nine at the top means: Noblehearted keeping still. Good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
蹇牛折角，不能載粟。災害不避，年歲无穀。
A lame ox with broken horn cannot carry the grain. Disaster unavoided; the year yields no harvest.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Twin mountains hold still, but the lame ox has already broken its horn and cannot carry the grain. Disaster is not averted; the year yields no harvest. The ox — the farmer's most essential asset — is doubly impaired: hobbled in its legs, shattered in its horn. Transport fails, and the harvest rots. From Keeping Still to Difficulty at the Beginning, the mountain's restraint meets the turbulence of thunder beneath water, clouds gathering with no release. The verse captures the cruelty of timing: when the beast of burden falters at precisely the moment the grain must move, stillness is no longer patience but paralysis. Initiative (thunder) churns beneath obstruction (water), and the season passes without yield.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store