訟 → 觀
Hexagram 6: Conflict → Hexagram 20: Contemplation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 4).
Line 2
九二 不克訟。歸而逋其邑。人三百戶。无眚。
Nine in the second place means: One cannot engage in conflict; One returns home, gives way. The people of his town, Three hundred households, Remain free of guilt.
Line 4
九四 不克訟。復即命。渝安貞。吉。
Nine in the fourth place means: One cannot engage in conflict. One turns back and submits to fate, Changes one's attitude, And finds peace in perseverance. Good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
欽明之德，坐前玉食。必保嘉美，長受安福。
Reverent and brilliant in virtue, seated before jade delicacies. Surely preserving what is fine and beautiful, long receiving peaceful blessings.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven and water oppose, but the ruler sits before jade dishes, radiant with the virtue described in the Book of Documents as 'reverently brilliant' (欽明). Such moral splendor ensures lasting beauty and enduring peace. The phrase 'qin ming' alludes to Emperor Yao's characterization in the Shangshu: 'reverently brilliant, civil and contemplative.' From Conflict to Contemplation, wind moves over the earth, and the ancient kings observed the regions and set up teachings. The verse captures Guan's ideal: governance through moral example rather than coercion. When the ruler embodies radiant virtue, the people see and follow — conflict resolves not through adjudication but through the sheer gravitational force of exemplary conduct.
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