豐 → 遯
Hexagram 55: Abundance → Hexagram 33: Retreat
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 遇其配主。雖旬无咎。往有尚。
Nine at the beginning means: When a man meets his destined ruler, They can be together ten days, And it is not a mistake. Going meets with recognition.
Line 5
六五 來章。有慶譽吉。
Six in the fifth place means: Lines are coming, Blessing and fame draw near. Good fortune.
Line 6
上六 豐其屋。蔀其家。闚其戶。闃其无人。三歲不覿。凶。
Six at the top means: His house is in a state of abundance. He screens off his family. He peers through the gate And no longer perceives anyone. For three years he sees nothing. Misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
甘忍利害，還相克敵。商子酷刑，鞅喪厥身。
Enduring bitterness, weighing gain and harm, still they oppose one another. Shang Yang, the merchant's son, suffered cruel punishment; Yang lost his very life.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder and fire illuminate Abundance, and the verse tells of Shang Yang's fatal trajectory. 'Enduring harm with calculated patience, in the end one conquers the enemy' — then 'Shang's lord applied cruel punishments, and Yang lost his own life.' Shang Yang, the Legalist reformer of Qin, instituted harsh laws including collective punishment and mutilating penalties that made Qin powerful but earned universal hatred. After Duke Xiao of Qin died in 338 BC, Shang Yang was accused of rebellion, fled, but could not find lodging because his own laws forbade hosting unregistered travelers. He was killed and his corpse torn apart by chariots. From Abundance to Retreat, heaven rises above the mountain: the architect of ruthless order becomes the one who most needs to retreat — yet his own system bars the exit.
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