Hexagram 53: Development → Hexagram 49: Revolution

Development
Wind / Mountain
Revolution
Lake / Fire
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 6).

Line 1

初六 鴻漸于干。小子厲有言。無咎。

hóngthe wild geese
jiàngradually advance
to
gānthe shoreline
xiǎothe little
child
having
yǒuthere is
yána talk
but no
jiùblame

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 4

六四 鴻漸于木。或得其桷。无咎。

hóngthe wild goose
jiànadvances
to
the trees [on the mountain: ban xiang]
huòsomehow
to find
one
juéthe flat
no
jiùblame

Six in the fourth place means: The wild goose goes gradually draws near the tree. Perhaps it will find a flat branch. No blame.

Line 6

上九 鴻漸于陸。其羽可用為儀。吉。

hóngthe wild geese
jiàngradually advance
together to
the plateau
their
feathers
will be
yòngused
wéiin
the sacred dance
promising

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

Upper TrigramWind LakeThe Gentle → The Joyous
Lower TrigramMountain FireKeeping Still → The Clinging

Yilin Verse

謝恩拜德,東歸吾國,歡樂有福。

Giving thanks for grace and virtue, returning east to my own land; joy and blessings abound.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Wind over mountain meets lake containing fire: gradual development is transformed by Revolution. Giving thanks for grace and virtue received, one returns east to the homeland, joyful and blessed. The verse describes a homecoming after service abroad: gratitude expressed, debts honored, and the journey back to where one belongs. From Development to Revolution, fire within the lake signals fundamental change, the old order replaced by the new. Yet the verse emphasizes not upheaval but its aftermath: the liberated subject returns home in peace. Revolution here is not destruction but release. The gradual accumulation of merit abroad culminates in the revolutionary act of departure itself, breaking free from foreign obligation to reclaim one's own ground.

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