歸妹 → 損
Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden → Hexagram 41: Decrease
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 4, 6).
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
爭鷄失羊，亡其金囊，利得不長。陳蔡之患，賴楚以安。
Quarreling over the chicken, losing the sheep; the gold purse gone, profit does not last. The troubles of Chen and Cai; they relied on Chu for safety.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over lake descends into mountain over lake: the maiden's tumultuous bond encounters Decrease's painful but necessary sacrifice. Fighting over a chicken, one loses a sheep and a money pouch; the profit gained does not last. Then the verse pivots to Confucius's ordeal between Chen and Cai, rescued ultimately through Chu's intervention. The two images pair nicely: petty contention squanders real wealth, while the sage's patient endurance through crisis is rewarded by external rescue. From the Marrying Maiden to Decrease, the mountain draws from the lake below, diminishing what is excessive to nourish what is essential. The sage willingly accepts decrease, trusting that genuine loss in the short term yields deeper gain.
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