比 → 觀
Hexagram 8: Holding Together → Hexagram 20: Contemplation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 6).
Line 6
上六 比之无首。凶。
Six at the top means: He finds no head for holding together. Misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
鳴鶴北飛，下就稻池。鱣鮪鰋鯉，眾多饒有，一狗獲兩，利得過倍。
The calling crane flies north, descending to the rice paddies. Sturgeon, catfish, and carp; abundant and plentiful. One dog catches two; profit doubles and redoubles.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon earth teems with life, and a crane cries as it flies north to the rice paddies. The waters hold sturgeon, bream, catfish, and carp in lavish profusion. A single hound catches two quarries, and the profits double. The crane echoes the Shijing ode 'Heming' — a hidden talent whose voice carries far — but here it simply descends to abundance rather than calling from obscurity. From Holding Together to Contemplation, wind moves across the earth as the ruler surveys his domain. Guan's watching eye sees how alliance produces surplus: the gathering of Bi generates such plenty that even a modest effort yields outsized returns. The one who observes clearly knows where abundance naturally collects.
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