師 → 大壯
Hexagram 7: The Army → Hexagram 34: Great Power
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4).
Line 1
初六 師出以律。否臧凶。
Six at the beginning means: An army must set forth in proper order. If the order is not good, misfortune threatens.
Line 3
六三 師或輿尸。凶。
Six in the third place means: Perchance the army carries corpses in the wagon. Misfortune.
Line 4
六四 師左次。无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: The army retreats. No blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
久旱水涸，枯槁無澤。虛修其德。未有所獲。
Long drought, waters dried up; withered and barren, no moisture. Cultivating virtue in vain; nothing yet gained.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water hidden within the earth has dried up under prolonged drought. Rivers and pools are parched, everything withered and without moisture. One cultivates virtue in vain, having gained nothing for the effort. The verse captures the frustration of merit unrewarded: moral discipline exercised in a barren season yields no visible harvest. From The Army to Great Power, thunder roars above heaven in overwhelming strength. Yet the verse contradicts the hexagram's promise — power without moisture is sterile force. The army's reservoir has run dry, and raw strength without sustenance merely exhausts itself. Even great power requires something to nourish before it can act.
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