既濟

Hexagram 63: After Completion → Hexagram 32: Duration

既濟
After Completion
Water / Fire
Duration
Thunder / Wind
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4, 5).

Line 1

初九 曳其輪。濡其尾。无咎。

braking
those
lúnwheels
soaking
that
wěitail
no
jiùblame

Nine at the beginning means: He breaks his wheels. He gets his tail in the water. No blame.

Line 2

六二 婦喪其茀。勿逐。七日得。

the matron
sàngloses
her
veil
do not
zhúpursue this
there will be seven
days
to gain

Six in the second place means: The woman loses the curtain of her carriage. Do not run after it; On the seventh day you will get it.

Line 4

六四 繻有衣袽。終日戒。

the silk jacket
yǒuis
worn
to
zhōngthroughout
the day
jièbe

Six in the fourth place means: The finest clothes turn to rags. Be careful all day long.

Line 5

九五 東鄰殺牛。不如西鄰之禴祭。實受其福。

dōngthe eastern
línneighbor
shāsacrifices
niúcattle
but
comparable
西the western
línneighbor
zhī's
yuèmodest
offering
shíthe genuine
shòuenjoy
these
blessings

Nine in the fifth place means: The neighbor in the east who slaughters an ox Does not attain as much real happiness As the neighbor in the west With his small offering.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramWater ThunderThe Deep → The Arousing
Lower TrigramFire WindThe Clinging → The Gentle

Yilin Verse

火起吾後,喜炙倉廡。龍衘水深,潠注屋柱,雖憂无咎。

Fire rises behind me, threatening to burn the granary and storehouse. A dragon carrying deep water sprays it upon the roof pillars; though there is worry, there is no harm.

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

Commentary

Water sits above fire — and then fire erupts behind. Flames threaten the granary and storehouse, but a dragon carrying water from the depths spews it upon the pillars, dousing the blaze. Though worry remains, there is no lasting harm. The verse dramatizes emergency and response: the completed order catches fire, but a primal force — the dragon from below — intervenes with exactly the needed element. From After Completion to Duration, the balanced configuration yields to thunder above wind — enduring forces in constant motion. Duration is not static preservation but the dynamic rhythm of crisis and response. The completed state survives not because it avoids disaster but because it possesses the reflexive capacity to meet fire with water, again and again.

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