豐 → 漸
Hexagram 55: Abundance → Hexagram 53: Development
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 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 4
九四 豐其蔀。日中見斗。遇其夷主。吉。
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。
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
義不勝情,以欲自榮。覬利危寵,摧角折頸。
Duty cannot overcome desire; one adorns oneself with appetite. Coveting profit, courting dangerous favor; horns shattered, neck broken.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder and fire converge in Abundance, and the verse condemns those who let desire override principle. 'Righteousness cannot overcome desire; one glorifies oneself through appetite.' Coveting profit and courting dangerous favor, one's horn is broken and neck snapped. The vivid final image — broken horn and snapped neck — evokes an animal that charged recklessly and met an immovable obstacle. Self-aggrandizement through desire rather than duty leads to violent self-destruction. From Abundance to Development, the tree grows slowly on the mountain: Development's patient, step-by-step progress stands as the antidote to the verse's reckless grasping. When desire outpaces principle, the gradual path is abandoned, and the climber falls from the height they tried to scale too quickly.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store