歸妹 → 中孚
Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden → Hexagram 61: Inner Truth
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 4, 5, 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 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.
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
三人俱行，一人言北，伯仲欲南，少叔不得。中路分爭，道鬭相賊。
Three men travel together; one speaks for north, the elder brothers wish south, the youngest cannot prevail. Midway they fall to quarreling; on the road they turn to blows and injury.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over lake shifts to wind over lake: the maiden's agitated union encounters Inner Truth's demand for genuine sincerity. Three travelers walk together; one insists on going north while the elder and middle brothers want south. The youngest cannot prevail. Midway they quarrel and attack each other. The verse depicts the collapse of consensus within a small group: what should be a journey undertaken in good faith devolves into violent disagreement over direction. From the Marrying Maiden to Inner Truth, wind blows gently over the lake, the image of the gentleman deliberating with compassion before passing judgment. Inner Truth demands the hollow center of genuine sincerity. The three travelers lack precisely this: without shared truth at the center, even companions become enemies.
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