既濟 → 隨
Hexagram 63: After Completion → Hexagram 17: Following
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 3, 4).
Line 3
九三 高宗伐鬼方。三年克之。小人勿用。
Nine in the third place means: The Illustrious Ancestor Disciplines the Devil's Country. After three years he conquers it. Inferior people must not be employed.
Line 4
六四 繻有衣袽。終日戒。
Six in the fourth place means: The finest clothes turn to rags. Be careful all day long.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
水流趍下，欲至東海。求我所有，買魴與鯉。
Merchant boats ride the wind through the gorge mouth; sails round as the moon reflect on green water. Along the shore, a thousand fishing lanterns shine — baskets brim with fish and shrimp, laughter is thick.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water sits above fire, but this verse is a modern rewrite. The original reads: 'Water flows downward, seeking to reach the Eastern Sea. I seek what I possess — buying bream and carp.' The imagery is of natural flow and commerce: water follows its course to the sea, and a buyer goes to market for fish. Both movements are purposeful and unhurried, following the path of least resistance. From After Completion to Following, fire-and-water order transforms into thunder resting beneath the lake — energy stilled, yielding to the current. Following's wisdom is knowing when to let the stream carry you. The completed order does not resist its own momentum but flows toward its natural destination.
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