中孚

Hexagram 61: Inner Truth → Hexagram 39: Obstruction

中孚
Inner Truth
Wind / Lake
Obstruction
Water / Mountain
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 6).

Line 1

初九 虞吉。有他不燕。

readiness
promising
yǒuto be
more than this
no
yàncomfort

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。

míngcall
crane
zàiremaining in
yīnshadows
her
young ones
respond
zhīher
I
yǒuhave
hǎofine
juédecanter
I
along with
ěryour
will drain
zhīit

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。

finding
counterpart
huòmaybe
to beat
huòor maybe
to quit
huòmaybe
to weep
huòor maybe
to sing

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 6

上九 翰音登于天。貞凶。

hànrooster's
yīncrowing
dēngascend
up to
tiānheaven
zhēnpersistence
xiōngunfortunate

Nine at the top means: Cockcrow penetrating to heaven. Perseverance brings misfortune.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramWind WaterThe Gentle → The Deep
Lower TrigramLake MountainThe Joyous → Keeping Still

Yilin Verse

歡欣九子,俱見大喜。攜提福善,王孫是富。

Rejoicing in nine children; all witness great happiness. Carrying blessings and virtue; the king's descendants grow wealthy.

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

Commentary

Wind stirs above the lake as nine children rejoice together in great delight. They carry blessings and goodness with them; the prince's descendants are wealthy. The verse is pure celebration: a large family united in happiness, prosperity flowing through the generations. The 'nine children' (九子) may allude to the ideal of numerous sons ensuring a lineage's continuity and strength. From Inner Truth to Obstruction, sincerity meets water upon the mountain — danger encountered on the high path. Yet the verse reads against the hexagram's difficulty: precisely because the family's inner trust is strong, the obstacles of Obstruction are navigated rather than feared. Wealth here is not gold but the accumulated goodwill of a clan whose bonds hold firm under pressure.

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