歸妹 → 困
Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden → Hexagram 47: Oppression
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 5).
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 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
式微式微，憂禍相絆。隔以巖山，室家分散。
Declining, declining — worries and misfortunes entangle one another. Sundered by cliff and crag; household and home are torn apart.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over lake plunges into lake over water: the maiden's troubled union sinks into Oppression's exhausted depths. 'Declining, declining!' echoes the Shijing ode 'Shi Wei,' the lament of exiles who ask why they must endure dew and mud for their lord's sake. Worry and misfortune bind together like shackles. Craggy mountains divide the household; families are scattered and separated. From the Marrying Maiden to Oppression, the lake has drained its water dry, leaving only the hollow basin. Oppression counsels committing one's life to fulfilling one's purpose despite depletion. The verse captures this desolation: separated by impassable terrain, the family fragments, and the speaker can only repeat the ancient refrain of diminishment.
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