中孚 → 師
Hexagram 61: Inner Truth → Hexagram 7: The Army
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 5, 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 5
九五 有孚攣如。无咎。
Nine in the fifth place means: He possesses truth, which links together. 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
靈龜陸處，盤桓失所。伊子退耕，桀亂无輔。
The divine turtle dwells on land; it wanders and loses its place. Yi Yin retreats to farming; Jie's chaos lacks counsel.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind stirs above the lake, and the sacred tortoise wanders on dry land, displaced from its element. Yi Yin retreats to the plow; Jie's tyranny leaves him without counsel. The numinous tortoise (靈龜) stranded on land echoes the I-Ching's own imagery of wisdom misplaced. Yi Yin, the sage cook who became Shang's founding minister, here withdraws from service because the ruler is beyond redemption. From Inner Truth to the Army, sincerity at the center transforms into water concealed within the earth — disciplined forces awaiting proper command. The verse captures the moment before mobilization: the wise minister farms in exile, husbanding his strength, while the tyrant's court collapses from within.
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