SIX LINES
Night Attack on the Sanjō Palace
䷅

Hexagram 6

訟

Sòng

Conflict

Night Attack on the Sanjō Palace — Unknown, 13th century

Flames consume the Sanjō Palace while warriors clash in the courtyard. This thirteenth-century Japanese handscroll depicts the Heiji Rebellion of 1159, the night when samurai supporting the Fujiwara clan attacked the imperial compound in Kyoto. The painting shows combat in vivid detail—soldiers grapple hand-to-hand, arrows fly, horses rear in panic as fire spreads through wooden buildings. Nobles flee in ox-drawn carriages while their guards fight desperately behind them. The scroll format allows the violence to unfold sequentially as you unroll it: first the approach, then the assault, then the burning palace interior where courtiers hide among flames. Two incompatible claims to power—imperial authority versus military force—collide in a single night.

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This is Sòng (訟), which combines Heaven (☰) above and Water (☵) below. The character 訟 contains the speech radical (言), suggesting legal disputation and argument. Water flows downward; heaven rises upward—divergent movement, incompatible directions. The Heiji Rebellion began when opposing factions could no longer coexist, when waiting degraded into violence. Ancient diviners saw this configuration when mediation had failed, when opposing interests moved toward direct confrontation. This 13th-century Japanese handscroll depicts the 1159 Heiji Rebellion, showing warriors attacking the Sanjō Palace. The vivid battle scene with flames and combat illustrates armed conflict between opposing forces. The Judgment warns: "Conflict. You are sincere and are being obstructed. A cautious halt halfway brings good fortune. Going through to the end brings misfortune." The handscroll depicts what happens when conflict goes to completion: the palace burns, courtiers die, the imperial family scatters into exile. The attacking samurai won this particular battle but triggered decades of civil war. Ancient texts counseled seeking third-party judgment rather than pursuing victory—"It furthers one to see the great man. It does not further one to cross the great water." Stop before the irreversible act, before crossing into destruction. The Image Text diagnoses the root cause: "Heaven and water go their opposite ways: the image of conflict. Thus in all his transactions the superior man carefully considers the beginning." The rebellion's seeds were planted in earlier decisions, earlier incompatible appointments to power. In the I-Ching's sequence, Sòng follows Xū: when waiting becomes prolonged or frustrated, when neither party will yield position, conflict erupts. The scroll shows the moment when divergent forces collide, when words fail and violence speaks.

Upper Trigram

☰

乾 Qián

Heaven — Creative

ElementMetalDirectionSouthFamilyFatherQualitiescreative, strong, dynamic

Lower Trigram

☵

坎 Kǎn

Water — Abysmal

ElementWaterDirectionWestFamilySecond SonQualitiesdangerous, flowing, fluid

Classical Texts

The Judgment

You believe you're right, but something blocks you. Stop halfway—that's where good fortune lives. Pushing through to the end brings disaster. Seek counsel from someone of moral stature. Don't attempt anything risky while in conflict.

The Lines

Line 1

Don't drag it out. Some gossip, some minor friction—let it go. In the end, this restraint brings good fortune. Perpetuating the conflict perpetuates the harm.

Line 2

You can't win this one. The opponent is stronger. Return home, give way. Your community—even a small one—remains free of guilt because you didn't drag them into a losing battle.

Line 3

Live on what you've already earned, not on promises of future winnings. Danger here, but ultimate good fortune if you persevere. If serving a leader, complete your task without seeking credit.

Line 4

You can't win, so you change your attitude instead. Submit to fate, find peace in perseverance. This inner shift—not the external outcome—brings good fortune.

Line 5

Bringing conflict before a just arbiter who's powerful enough to enforce the right decision—this brings supreme good fortune. The key is the arbiter's integrity.

Line 6

Even if you win the belt, you'll lose it three times before morning. Victory in conflict that's pushed too far becomes hollow. The prize doesn't stay.

Yilin: Forest of Changes

From Jiao Yanshou's Forest of Changes (焦氏易林) — the verse for Hexagram 6 in its unchanging form. A Han dynasty collection of four-character verses interpreting every hexagram transformation.

Yilin artwork for Hexagram 6
文巧俗弊，將反大質。僵死如麻，流血濡櫓。皆知其母，不識其父，干戈乃止。

Artifice corrupts customs, about to return to plain substance. The dead lie stiff like hemp; flowing blood soaks the oar-shields. All know their mothers, none know their fathers; only then do arms cease.

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Conflict doubled upon itself: heaven and water oppose, and the opposition feeds on its own energy. Cunning artifice corrupts custom until society reverts to raw essence. Corpses lie stiff as hemp stalks; blood soaks the war-tower shields. The imagery echoes Jia Yi's 'On the Faults of Qin': people know their mothers but not their fathers — the ultimate breakdown of social bonds. Yet the verse ends abruptly: weapons and shields are laid down. From Conflict to Conflict, there is no transformation, no escape valve. The same pattern redoubles. The verse warns that when strife becomes self-perpetuating, it consumes everything until exhaustion forces a halt — not resolution, but collapse.

中文注释

訟之重卦，天與水違行之勢自我強化，無可轉化，無可脫逃。文巧之術敗壞風俗，終將回歸大質。僵屍如麻，血流濡櫓——戰場之慘烈極矣。此景呼應賈誼《過秦論》所述社會崩壞——「皆知其母，不識其父」，人倫瓦解至極，父子不相識認。然詩末驟然收束：干戈乃止。從訟至訟，無所變化，無出路可尋。同一對立模式層層疊加。詩警示：紛爭若成自我循環，終將吞噬一切，直至力竭而止——非和解，乃崩潰。

Transformations

Hexagram 6 transforming into each of the 64 hexagrams, with Yilin verses.

䷀1䷁2䷂3䷃4䷄5䷅6䷆7䷇8䷈9䷉10䷊11䷋12䷌13䷍14䷎15䷏16䷐17䷑18䷒19䷓20䷔21䷕22䷖23䷗24䷘25䷙26䷚27䷛28䷜29䷝30䷞31䷟32䷠33䷡34䷢35䷣36䷤37䷥38䷦39䷧40䷨41䷩42䷪43䷫44䷬45䷭46䷮47䷯48䷰49䷱50䷲51䷳52䷴53䷵54䷶55䷷56䷸57䷹58䷺59䷻60䷼61䷽62䷾63䷿64

Related Hexagrams

Same upper trigram: Heaven (乾)

䷀乾The Creative䷉履Treading䷋否Standstill䷌同人Fellowship䷘无妄Innocence䷠遯Retreat䷫姤Coming to Meet

Same lower trigram: Water (坎)

䷃蒙Youthful Folly䷆師The Army䷜坎The Abysmal Water䷧解Deliverance䷮困Oppression䷺渙Dispersion䷿未濟Before Completion
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