比 → 臨
Hexagram 8: Holding Together → Hexagram 19: Approach
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 5).
Line 1
初六 有孚比之。无咎。有孚盈缶。終來有它吉。
Six at the beginning means: Hold to him in truth and loyalty; This is without blame. Truth, like a full earthen bowl: Thus in the end Good fortune comes from without.
Line 2
六二 比之自內。貞吉。
Six in the second place means: Hold to him inwardly. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Line 5
九五 顯比。王用三驅。失前禽。邑人不誡。吉。
Nine in the fifth place means: Manifestation of holding together. In the hunt the king uses beaters on three sides only And forgoes game that runs off in front. The citizens need no warning. Good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
府藏之富，王以賑貸。捕魚河海，苟願多得。
The treasury's riches; the king uses them for relief and loans. Fishing the rivers and seas; striving to gain as much as possible.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon earth fills the treasury, and a king distributes relief from his stores. The royal granaries overflow; the ruler uses this wealth to lend and rescue the people. Then the verse shifts to fishing in rivers and seas — the desire to gain ever more. From Holding Together to Approach, the transformation embodies sovereign generosity descending toward the people. Lin's earth above lake suggests authority drawing near to what lies below, overseeing with care. The verse pairs public redistribution with private ambition: the king opens his stores, the fisherman casts his net. Both are forms of gathering, but one serves the collective and the other serves appetite. Bi's alliance works best when abundance flows downward.
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