Hexagram 55: Abundance → Hexagram 39: Obstruction

Abundance
Thunder / Fire
Obstruction
Water / Mountain
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5).

Line 1

初九 遇其配主。雖旬无咎。往有尚。

meet with
one's own
pèiequal
zhǔand
suīeven if
xúnten days
no
jiùblame
wǎngto go ahead
yǒuis
shàngworth

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 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.

Line 5

六五 來章。有慶譽吉。

láicoming
zhāngan
yǒuthere are
qìngreward
and praise
promising

Six in the fifth place means: Lines are coming, Blessing and fame draw near. Good fortune.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramThunder WaterThe Arousing → The Deep
Lower TrigramFire MountainThe Clinging → Keeping Still

Yilin Verse

北辰紫宮,衣冠立中。含弘建德,常受大福。

The North Star in its Purple Palace; robed and crowned, standing at the center. Embracing magnanimity, establishing virtue; forever receiving great blessings.

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

Commentary

Thunder and fire illuminate Abundance, and the verse gazes at the cosmic pole. The Pole Star resides in the Purple Palace; robed and capped figures stand at the center. Embracing magnanimity and establishing virtue, one perpetually receives great blessings. The Purple Palace (紫宮) is the celestial enclosure surrounding Polaris — the Emperor's heavenly residence in Chinese cosmology. Robed figures standing in attendance mirror the earthly court reflected in the sky. To 'embrace vastness and build virtue' is to align oneself with this celestial center. From Abundance to Obstruction, water gathers atop the mountain: even when obstacles multiply, one who holds the cosmic center like the Pole Star can 'turn inward and cultivate virtue,' unmoved by external difficulty.

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