漸 → 明夷
Hexagram 53: Development → Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 5, 6).
Line 1
初六 鴻漸于干。小子厲有言。無咎。
Six at the beginning means: The wild goose gradually draws near the shore. The young son is in danger. There is talk. No blame.
Line 5
九五 鴻漸于陵。婦三歲不孕。終莫之勝。吉。
Nine in the fifth place means: The wild goose gradually draws near the summit. For three years the woman has no child. In the end nothing can hinder her. Good fortune.
Line 6
上九 鴻漸于陸。其羽可用為儀。吉。
Nine at the top means: The wild goose gradually draws near the clouds heights. Its feathers can be used for the sacred dance. Good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
尼父孔丘，善釣鯉魚。羅網一舉，得獲萬頭。富我家居。
Master Ni, Kongqiu, was skilled at angling for carp. One cast of the net yields ten thousand head. It enriches my household.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind over mountain descends to earth concealing fire: gradual development enters the Darkening of the Light. Father Ni, Confucius, is skilled at catching carp. One cast of the net yields ten thousand heads, enriching the household. The irony is deliberate: Confucius, who wandered without a state and nearly starved between Chen and Cai, is here reimagined as a master fisherman reaping abundance. In the Yilin, Confucius often appears in unexpected guises. From Development to Darkening of the Light, brightness is buried within the earth, and the wise must conceal their brilliance. The sage who fishes quietly and fills his nets is the one who governs by dimming his light, achieving far more than overt display ever could.
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