巽 → 臨
Hexagram 57: The Gentle Wind → Hexagram 19: Approach
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 5, 6).
Line 1
初六 進退。利武人之貞。
Six at the beginning means: In advancing and in retreating, The perseverance of a warrior furthers.
Line 3
九三 頻巽吝。
Nine in the third place means: Repeated penetration. Humiliation.
Line 5
九五 貞吉悔亡。无不利。无初有終。先庚三日。後庚三日。吉。
Nine in the fifth place means: Perseverance brings good fortune. Remorse vanishes. Nothing that does not further. No beginning, but an end. Before the change, three days. After the change, three days. Good fortune.
Line 6
上九 巽在牀下。喪其資斧。貞凶。
Nine at the top means: Penetration under the bed. He loses his property and his ax. Perseverance brings misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
巨虵大鰌，戰於國郊。上下閉塞，君道走逃。
The great serpent and giant eel; they battle at the city's edge. Above and below are sealed; the ruler's path is only flight.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind upon wind transforms into earth over lake: the Gentle becomes Approach. A giant serpent and an enormous catfish battle on the outskirts of the capital. Above and below are sealed shut; the ruler's way is flight. Monstrous creatures fighting at the city gates signal cosmic disorder — when beasts from the deep surface to wage war, the natural hierarchy has collapsed entirely. The ruler, instead of approaching his people, must flee. From The Gentle to Approach, the transformation is inverted. Earth above the lake should mean benevolent authority drawing near to govern. But here the approach is monstrous, not sovereign. The creatures that rise from below are not subjects seeking guidance but chaotic forces that drive the lord away.
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