Hexagram 57: The Gentle Wind → Hexagram 60: Limitation

The Gentle Wind
Wind / Wind
Limitation
Water / Lake
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 6).

Line 1

初六 進退。利武人之貞。

jìnadvance
退tuìand retreat
meriting
the military
rénone
zhī's
zhēnpersistence

Six at the beginning means: In advancing and in retreating, The perseverance of a warrior furthers.

Line 3

九三 頻巽吝。

pínfrequent
xùnadaptation
lìnembarrass(ment)

Nine in the third place means: Repeated penetration. Humiliation.

Line 6

上九 巽在牀下。喪其資斧。貞凶。

xùnencroach(ment)
zàioccur
chuángthe bed
xiàunder
sànglosing
one's own
resources
and an ax
zhēnpersistence
xiōngis disappointing

Nine at the top means: Penetration under the bed. He loses his property and his ax. Perseverance brings misfortune.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramWind WaterThe Gentle → The Deep
Lower TrigramWind LakeThe Gentle → The Joyous

Yilin Verse

嬰兒孩子,未有所識。彼童而角,亂我政事。

Infants and babes; they have no understanding. That child who sprouts horns; throws our governance into chaos.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Wind upon wind transforms into water over lake: the Gentle becomes Limitation. Infants and children have no understanding yet. That child who sprouts horns disrupts my governance. The verse contrasts natural innocence with precocious menace: ordinary children simply lack knowledge, but one child has grown horns — an unnatural prodigy who wreaks havoc on the state. In Chinese omen lore, a child sprouting horns or horned prodigies were signs of cosmic disorder. From The Gentle to Limitation, water above the lake establishes measured boundaries. The gentleman regulates numbers and deliberates on conduct. Yet the anomalous child defies every limit: too young to govern, yet powerful enough to destabilize. When what should be limited by nature exceeds its bounds, the entire system of regulation breaks down.

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