旅 → 井
Hexagram 56: The Wanderer → Hexagram 48: The Well
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 5, 6).
Line 1
初六 旅瑣瑣。斯其所取災。
Six at the beginning means: If the wanderer busies himself with trivial things, He draws down misfortune upon himself.
Line 2
六二 旅即次。懷其資。得童僕貞。
Six in the second place means: The wanderer comes to an inn. He has his property with him. He wins the steadfastness of a young servant.
Line 5
六五 射雉。一矢亡。終以譽命。
Six in the fifth place means: He shoots a pheasant. It drops with the first arrow. In the end this brings both praise and office.
Line 6
上九 鳥焚其巢。旅人先笑後號咷。喪牛于易。凶。
Nine at the top means: The bird's nest burns up. The wanderer laughs at first, Then must needs lament and weep. Through carelessness he loses his cow. Misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
慈母赤子，享賜得士，獲夷服除。以安王家，側陋逢時。
A loving mother and her infant; the gifts bestowed win worthy men. The frontier is pacified, robes of office conferred. The royal house is put at ease; the humble find their moment.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire on the mountain, and a compassionate mother raises her beloved child to become a worthy minister. The traveler receives gifts and gains capable attendants; threats are subdued and removed. Through this, the royal household is stabilized, and even one of humble origin meets his destined moment. The verse celebrates the nurturing power that transforms a wanderer into a pillar of state — the mother's care, the lord's recognition, the subject's loyal service forming a chain of reciprocal virtue. From The Wanderer to The Well, water rises through wood to nourish all without discrimination. The Well's inexhaustible giving mirrors the maternal devotion described: sustenance flows upward from the depths to those who need it, regardless of their station.
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