訟 → 艮
Hexagram 6: Conflict → Hexagram 52: Keeping Still Mountain
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4, 5).
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 3
六三 食舊德。貞。厲終吉。或從王事。无成。
Six in the third place means: To nourish oneself on ancient virtue induces perseverance. Danger. In the end, good fortune comes. If by chance you are in the service of a king, Seek not works.
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.
Line 5
九五 訟。元吉。
Nine in the fifth place means: To contend before him Brings supreme good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
猿墜高木，不踒手足。保我金玉，還歸其室。
The ape falls from the tall tree, not breaking hand or foot. Keeping safe my gold and jade; returning to its home.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven and water oppose, yet the ape that falls from a tall tree does not break a hand or foot. It keeps its gold and jade intact and returns safely to its den. The ape's skill is precisely adapted to its environment: even in a fall from great height, its body knows how to absorb the impact. From Conflict to Keeping Still, the doubled mountain stands firm — 'the noble one thinks without going beyond his position.' The verse captures Gen's wisdom through the ape: one who knows one's own terrain intimately can survive even a sudden plunge. The ape does not fight the fall but folds into it, preserving what matters. Stillness here is not passivity but practiced physical intelligence.
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