中孚 → 困
Hexagram 61: Inner Truth → Hexagram 47: Oppression
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 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 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
武陽漸離，擊筑善歌。慕丹之義，為燕助軻。陰謀不遂，霍自死亡，功名賈施。
Gao Jianli of Wuyang; skilled at striking the zhu and singing. Admiring Jing Ke's righteousness; assisting Yan's assassin. The secret plot failed; dying alone. Fame and merit were sold.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind stirs above the lake, and from Wuyang comes Gao Jianli, master of the struck zither, a singer of renown. Moved by the righteousness of Prince Dan of Yan, he lends his art to aid Jing Ke's mission. The secret plot fails; Gao Jianli meets his own death, but his fame endures as lasting legacy. Gao Jianli played the zhu at Jing Ke's famous farewell at the Yi River. After Jing Ke's assassination attempt failed, Gao Jianli later filled his zhu with lead and struck at the Qin king himself — and missed. From Inner Truth to Oppression, sincerity enters the lake drained of water. The verse embodies Oppression's deepest teaching: one may commit one's life to a righteous cause and still fail utterly, yet the commitment itself becomes the monument.
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