節 → 大畜
Hexagram 60: Limitation → Hexagram 26: Great Taming
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 3, 5, 6).
Line 3
六三 不節若。則嗟若。无咎。
Six in the third place means: He who knows no limitation Will have cause to lament. No blame.
Line 5
九五 甘節吉。往有尚。
Nine in the fifth place means: Sweet limitation brings good fortune. Going brings esteem.
Line 6
上六 苦節貞凶。悔亡。
Six at the top means: Galling limitation. Perseverance brings misfortune. Remorse disappears.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
景星照堂，麟遊鳳翔。仁施大行，頌聲作興。
The auspicious star shines upon the hall; qilin roam and phoenixes soar. Benevolence spreads far and wide; hymns of praise arise and flourish.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water over lake regulates and refines, and here that refinement produces an era of extraordinary grace. The Luminous Star shines upon the hall — an auspicious stellar omen heralding virtuous rule. The qilin roams and the phoenix soars, appearing only under a sage's governance. Benevolence spreads far and wide; hymns of praise rise on every side. The verse paints the golden-age tableau beloved of Han court poetry: cosmic harmony responding to moral excellence. From Limitation to Great Taming, the transformation stores this radiance within the mountain. Heaven held within the mountain preserves ancient wisdom. Limitation's disciplined governance generates the accumulated virtue that Great Taming hoards and transmits across generations.
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