巽 → 否
Hexagram 57: The Gentle Wind → Hexagram 12: Standstill
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4).
Line 2
九二 巽在牀下。用史巫。紛若。吉。无咎。
Nine in the second place means: Penetration under the bed. Priests and magicians are used in great number. Good fortune. No blame.
Line 3
九三 頻巽吝。
Nine in the third place means: Repeated penetration. Humiliation.
Line 4
六四 悔亡。田獲三品。
Six in the fourth place means: Remorse vanishes. During the hunt Three kinds of game are caught.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
爭雞失羊,利得不長。陳蔡之患,賴楚以安。
Fighting over the chicken, losing the sheep; profit gained does not last. The troubles of Chen and Cai; they relied on Chu for safety.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind upon wind transforms into heaven over earth: the Gentle becomes Standstill. Squabbling over a chicken, one loses a sheep — profits gained do not last. Then Confucius's hardship between Chen and Cai: besieged and starving, he depended on Chu's intervention for relief. The verse pairs two warnings: petty quarrels that forfeit greater goods, and the sage himself trapped in political deadlock. From The Gentle to Standstill, the meaning crystallizes. Heaven and earth do not communicate; high and low are severed. Wind's gentle persuasion has ceased to penetrate. Even Confucius, whose moral influence should move kingdoms, found himself blocked between hostile states — and had to rely on an external power to break the impasse.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store