師 → 損
Hexagram 7: The Army → Hexagram 41: Decrease
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 6).
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 6
上六 大君有命。開國承家。小人勿用。
Six at the top means: The great prince issues commands, Founds states, vests families with fiefs. Inferior people should not be employed.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
解衣毛羽，飛入大都。晨門戒守，鄭忽失家。
Shedding feathers and plumage; flying into the great capital. The dawn gatekeeper guards the entrance; Zheng Hu loses his domain.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water hidden within the earth discharges its forces, and the verse opens with metamorphosis: shedding clothes to reveal feathers, one flies into the great capital. But at the city gate the morning guard raises the alarm, and Zheng Hu loses his domain. Zheng Hu — Duke Zhao of Zheng — was the rightful heir who lost his throne when the minister Zhai Zhong, coerced by the state of Song, installed his rival Zi Tu as ruler. The dawn-gatekeeper who challenges intruders captures the moment authority turns hostile. From The Army to Decrease, the mountain rises above the lake as resources are deliberately reduced. What was gained through military order is lost through political betrayal; the rightful ruler is stripped of his house.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store