比 → 大過
Hexagram 8: Holding Together → Hexagram 28: Great Exceeding
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4).
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 3
六三 比之匪人。
Six in the third place means: You hold together with the wrong people.
Line 4
六四 外比之。貞吉。
Six in the fourth place means: Hold to him outwardly also. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
鉛刀攻玉，堅不可得。盡我筋力，胝蠒為候。
A lead knife attacks jade; the hardness cannot be overcome. Exhausting all my sinew and strength; calluses and blisters bear witness.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon earth provides the base, but some tasks exceed the tools at hand. A lead knife attempts to carve jade: the stone is too hard, the blade too soft. Every sinew is exhausted, hands blistered and calloused, yet still one waits for the breakthrough that will not come. Lead against jade is a proverbial mismatch in classical literature — humble talent set against an impossible standard. From Holding Together to Great Exceeding, the lake submerging the trees signals a burden that overwhelms the structure beneath. The alliance of Bi offers support, but Daguo warns that some loads cannot be borne regardless of the community's strength. The verse counsels not giving up but recognizing the limits of one's instruments.
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