兌 → 觀
Hexagram 58: The Joyous Lake → Hexagram 20: Contemplation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4, 6).
Line 1
初九 和兌吉。
Nine at the beginning means: Contented joyousness. Good fortune.
Line 2
九二 孚兌吉。悔亡。
Nine in the second place means: Sincere joyousness. Good fortune. Remorse disappears.
Line 4
九四 商兌未寧。介疾有喜。
Nine in the fourth place means: Joyousness that is weighed is not at peace. After ridding himself of mistakes a man has joy.
Line 6
上六 引兌。
Six at the top means: Seductive joyousness.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
舞非其處，失節多悔，不合我意。
Dancing in the wrong place, missing the rhythm, full of regret; it does not suit my intention.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Paired lakes meet wind moving over earth — Contemplation, the image of observing from above. Dancing in the wrong place, losing propriety, yielding only regret and displeasure. The verse is terse and pointed: performance without proper context becomes transgression. A ritual dance enacted in an inappropriate setting violates the very order it should celebrate. From The Joyous to Contemplation, uninhibited delight must submit to the discipline of observation. Wind moves across the earth, surveying all — and what it finds is a dancer out of place. The sage-king observes the people to establish teaching; what is observed here needs correction.
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