歸妹 → 屯
Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden → Hexagram 3: Difficulty at the Beginning
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 4, 5).
Line 2
九二 眇能視。利幽人之貞。
Nine in the second place means: A one-eyed man who is able to see. The perseverance of a solitary man furthers.
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 5
六五 帝乙歸妹。其君之袂。不如其娣之袂良。月幾望吉。
Six in the fifth place means: The sovereign I gave his daughter in marriage. The embroidered garments of the princess Were not as gorgeous As those of the serving maid. The moon that is nearly full Brings good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
魚欲負流。眾不同心，至德安樂。
The fish would swim against the current. The multitude are not of one heart; through utmost virtue, peace and joy prevail.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over lake meets water over thunder: the maiden's hasty union confronts the turmoil of new beginnings. Fish try to swim against the current; the crowd lacks unity of purpose. Yet the verse pivots: through supreme virtue, peace and contentment arrive. The image of fish fighting the flow captures wasted effort when hearts are not aligned, but the resolution suggests that moral authority can unify what force cannot. From the Marrying Maiden to Difficulty at the Beginning, the chaotic energy of Zhun mirrors the initial disorder of any new undertaking. Clouds and thunder churn but rain has not yet fallen. The verse insists that virtue, not coercion, is what transforms discord into harmony at the threshold of creation.
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