歸妹 → 蠱
Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden → Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 6).
Line 1
初九 歸妹以娣。跛能履。征吉。
Nine at the beginning means: The marrying maiden as a concubine. A lame man who is able to tread. Undertakings bring good fortune.
Line 3
六三 歸妹以須。反歸以娣。
Six in the third place means: The marrying maiden as a slave. She marries as a concubine.
Line 4
九四 歸妹愆期。遲歸有時。
Nine in the fourth place means: The marrying maiden draws out the allotted time. A late marriage comes in due course.
Line 6
上六 女承筐无實。士刲羊无血。无攸利。
Six at the top means: The woman holds the basket, but there are no fruits in it. The man stabs the sheep, but no blood flows. Nothing that acts to further.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
陰陽隔塞，許嫁不荅。旄丘新臺，悔往嘆息。
Yin and yang are blocked and sundered; the betrothal promise goes unanswered. The barren hill, the new tower — she regrets and sighs over what has passed.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over lake shifts to mountain over wind: the maiden's frustrated union mirrors Work on the Decayed's theme of inherited corruption. Yin and yang are blocked from each other; a betrothal goes unanswered. The Shijing odes 'Maoqiu' and 'Xintai' are invoked: 'Maoqiu' laments allies who fail to honor their promises, while 'Xintai' condemns Duke Xuan of Wei, who built a splendid terrace on the Yellow River to intercept his son's bride and take her for himself. The verse ends in regret and sighing. From the Marrying Maiden to Work on the Decayed, the transformation confronts corruption head-on. Gu's wind trapped beneath the mountain breeds decay that must be addressed. The marriage gone wrong here is precisely the inherited rot that Gu demands be repaired.
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