未濟 → 明夷
Hexagram 64: Before Completion → Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 6).
Line 1
初六 濡其尾。吝。
Six at the beginning means: He gets his tail in the water. Humiliating.
Line 2
九二 曳其輪。貞吉。
Nine in the second place means: He brakes his wheels. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Line 3
六三 未濟征凶。利涉大川。
Six in the third place means: Before completion, attack brings misfortune. It furthers one to cross the great water.
Line 4
九四 貞吉悔亡。震用伐鬼方。三年有賞于大國。
Nine in the fourth place means: Perseverance brings good fortune. Remorse disappears. Shock, thus to discipline the Devil's Country. For three years, great realms are awarded.
Line 6
上九 有孚于飲酒。无咎。濡其首。有孚失是。
Nine at the top means: There is drinking of wine In genuine confidence. No blame. But if one wets his head, He loses it, in truth.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
名成德就，項領不試。景公耄老，尼父逝去。
White-haired, he sharpens the sword — but the sword is already dull. Grand ambitions unfulfilled, temples frosted first. Ten thousand scrolls written, no one asks — sitting alone in a desolate study, facing the sunset.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire above water, and the light is about to enter the earth. The original verse names real historical figures: Duke Jing of Qi grew old without accomplishing his reforms, and Confucius (Father Ni) passed away before his Way could prevail. Achievement was complete in name but never tested in practice — the sword never drawn, the head never offered for service. From Before Completion to Darkening of the Light, fire-over-water transforms into fire sinking beneath the earth. This is the most structurally resonant pairing in the batch: Before Completion's misaligned fire meets Darkening of the Light's buried flame. The sage dies unrecognized; the lord ages without acting. Brilliance exists but is swallowed by circumstance — the very definition of Ming Yi.
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