Hexagram 60: Limitation → Hexagram 10: Treading

Limitation
Water / Lake
Treading
Heaven / Lake
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 4, 6).

Line 4

六四 安節亨。

ānsecure in
jiéthe boundary
hēngfulfillment

Six in the fourth place means: Contented limitation. Success.

Line 6

上六 苦節貞凶。悔亡。

bitter
jiélimitation
zhēnpersistence
xiōngis unfortunate
huǐbut
wángpass

Six at the top means: Galling limitation. Perseverance brings misfortune. Remorse disappears.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramWater HeavenThe Deep → The Creative
Lower TrigramLake Lake

Yilin Verse

長寧履福,安我百國。嘉賓上堂,與季同床。

Long peace treads upon blessing; my hundred states are at ease. Honored guests ascend the hall; sharing a seat with my youngest kinsman.

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

Commentary

Water over lake creates the stability from which blessing flows. Long peace treads in fortune's steps, and a hundred states rest secure. Distinguished guests ascend the hall and share the host's own couch — an image of supreme intimacy between ruler and counselor drawn from the Shijing tradition of royal feasting. The verse radiates the warmth of a well-governed realm where propriety and generosity coexist. From Limitation to Treading, the transformation reveals how measured governance produces confident conduct. Heaven above, lake below — one treads upon the tiger's tail without being bitten, because one's step is true. Limitation's discipline becomes Treading's graceful navigation of power, where the right boundaries make fearless intimacy possible.

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