豐 → 既濟
Hexagram 55: Abundance → Hexagram 63: After Completion
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 4, 5).
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
負牛上山，力劣行難。烈風雨雪，遮遏我前。中道復還。
Bearing an ox up the mountain, strength failing, the way hard. Fierce wind, rain, and snow block the path ahead. Midway, one turns back.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder and fire converge in Abundance, and a man shoulders an ox up a mountain. His strength is meager, the journey brutal. Fierce wind, rain, and snow block his path ahead. Midway, he turns back. The image is one of impossible burden: an ox carried uphill, not led — sheer physical absurdity. When the storm descends, even this stubborn effort must concede. The midway return acknowledges limits without shame. From Abundance to After Completion, water above fire in perfect but precarious balance: the verse captures the moment just before completion when the last push fails. After Completion warns to 'think of calamity and prevent it' — the man's error was not in turning back but in beginning an impossible ascent unprepared.
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