中孚 → 咸
Hexagram 61: Inner Truth → Hexagram 31: Influence
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 6).
Line 1
初九 虞吉。有他不燕。
Nine at the beginning means: Being prepared brings good fortune. If there are secret designs, it is disquieting.
Line 2
九二 鳴鶴在陰。其子和之。我有好爵。吾與爾靡之。
Nine in the second place means: A crane calling in the shade. Its young answers it. I have a good goblet. I will share it with you.
Line 3
六三 得敵。或鼓或罷。或泣或歌。
Six in the third place means: He finds a comrade. Now he beats the drum, now he stops. Now he sobs, now he sings.
Line 4
六四 月幾望。馬匹亡。无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: The moon nearly at the full. The team horse goes astray. No blame.
Line 6
上九 翰音登于天。貞凶。
Nine at the top means: Cockcrow penetrating to heaven. Perseverance brings misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
低頭竊視,有所遇避。行作不利,酒酸魚餒,眾莫貪嗜。
Head bowed, stealing glances; something to meet and avoid. Actions bring no profit; wine sours and fish spoils. None desire to taste them.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind stirs above the lake, but eyes are lowered in furtive glances. One peers from beneath, avoiding and evading. Actions bring no profit; the wine has turned sour and the fish is rancid — no one desires them. The verse paints a scene of failed commerce or hospitality: the host skulks, the goods are spoiled, the guests recoil. From Inner Truth to Influence, sincerity should meet the lake resting upon the mountain — the image of receptive openness that moves the heart. Yet the verse inverts every element: instead of open receptivity, there is concealment; instead of attraction, repulsion. Influence requires vulnerability, but when what one offers is corrupt and one's posture is evasive, no genuine connection can form.
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