師 → 渙
Hexagram 7: The Army → Hexagram 59: Dispersion
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 5, 6).
Line 5
六五 田有禽。利執言。无咎。長子帥師。弟子輿尸。貞凶。
Six in the fifth place means: There is game in the field. It furthers one to catch it. Without blame. Let the eldest lead the army. The younger transports corpses; Then perseverance brings misfortune.
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
惡來呼伯，慎驚外客。甲守閉宅，以備凶急。臨折之憂，將滅無災。
Wu Lai calls out for his brother; be cautious -- a stranger approaches. Armored men guard and bar the house, to prepare against sudden danger. The threat of collapse looms; yet it shall pass without disaster.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water hidden within the earth braces for assault, and E Lai summons his comrades to guard against external threat. E Lai — the powerful strongman who served King Zhou of Shang, ancestor of the Qin ruling house — was famed for brute strength and fierce loyalty. Armored guards seal the dwelling to prepare for sudden violence. Yet the crisis that seemed about to break is averted; the branch about to snap holds firm, and disaster dissolves. From The Army to Dispersion, wind moves over water, scattering what had gathered. The defensive mobilization proves unnecessary as the threat disperses of its own accord — sometimes the best military outcome is the battle that never happens.
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