Hexagram 55: Abundance → Hexagram 19: Approach

Abundance
Thunder / Fire
Approach
Earth / Lake
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4).

Line 2

六二 豐其蔀。日中見斗。往得疑疾。有孚發若。吉。

fēngso abundant
are one's
woven screens
the day
zhōngat mid-
jiànone may see
dǒuthe bushel constellation
wǎnggoing ahead
finds
doubt
and anxiety
yǒuto be
true
and manifest
ruòthis
is promising

Six in the second place means: The curtain is of such fullness That the polestars can be seen at noon. Through going one meets with mistrust and hate. If one rouses him through truth, Good fortune comes.

Line 3

九三 豐其沛。日中見沬。折其右肱。无咎。

fēngso abundant
are one's
pèiflowing banners
the day
zhōngat mid-
jiànone may see
mèistardust
zhéand also break
one's own
yòuright
gōngupper arm
but no
jiùblame

Nine in the third place means: The underbrush is of such abundance That the small stars can be seen at noon. He breaks his right arm. No blame.

Line 4

九四 豐其蔀。日中見斗。遇其夷主。吉。

fēngso abundant
are one's
woven screens
the day
zhōngat mid-
jiànone may see
dǒuthe bushel constellation
or meet
that
hidden
zhǔmaster
promising

Nine in the fourth place means: The curtain is of such fullness That the polestars can be seen at noon. He meets his ruler, who is of like kind. Good fortune.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramThunder EarthThe Arousing → The Receptive
Lower TrigramFire LakeThe Clinging → The Joyous

Yilin Verse

鵠求魚食,過彼射邑。繒加我頭,繳挂羽翼。欲飛不能,為羿所得。

The swan-goose seeks fish to eat, passing over the archery town. A silk net covers its head; a corded arrow snags its wings. Wishing to fly, it cannot; captured by the archer Yi.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Thunder and fire join in Abundance, but here abundance lures a swan-goose to its doom. The great bird seeks fish to eat and passes over a town of archers. A silken net tangles its head; cords snare its wings. It tries to fly but cannot, and falls prey to the legendary archer Yi. The swan-goose's hunger drove it over dangerous ground, where its very magnificence made it a target. Archer Yi, the mythic marksman who shot down nine suns, represents an inescapable force. From Abundance to Approach, earth overspreads the lake: the verse warns that approaching abundance carelessly invites entrapment. Approach demands teaching and protection, not reckless advance into the hunter's range.

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