巽 → 震
Hexagram 57: The Gentle Wind → Hexagram 51: The Arousing Thunder
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 6 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 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 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.
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
日月運行,一寒一暑。榮寵赫赫,不可得保。顛隕墜墮,更為士伍。
Sun and moon revolve; one cold, one hot in turn. Blazing glory cannot be kept. Fallen and cast down; reduced again to common ranks.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind upon wind transforms into doubled thunder: the Gentle becomes The Arousing. The sun and moon revolve — one season cold, the next warm. Glory and imperial favor burn brilliantly, but cannot be preserved. One tumbles and falls, demoted to the rank of common soldier. The verse traces the full arc of political fortune: from the zenith of power to utter degradation. The cosmic rhythm of alternating seasons frames human inconstancy — what blazes in summer must freeze in winter. From The Gentle to The Arousing, doubled thunder strikes with terrifying force, and the gentleman cultivates reverence through fear. The shock of demotion is a thunderclap that strips away all illusion. Yesterday's honored courtier is today's foot soldier, and the turning of heaven's wheel spares no one.
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