比 → 晉
Hexagram 8: Holding Together → Hexagram 35: Progress
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 4, 5, 6).
Line 4
六四 外比之。貞吉。
Six in the fourth place means: Hold to him outwardly also. 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.
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
昊天白日，照臨我國。萬民康樂，咸賴嘉福。
Vast heaven and white sun, shining down upon our land. The myriad people are healthy and joyful; all blessed with good fortune.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon earth reflects the sky, and here the great heaven's white sun shines down upon the nation. All the people are healthy and joyful, every household relying on abundant blessings. The verse is pure benediction — no conflict, no warning, simply the image of sovereign light illuminating a unified land. From Holding Together to Progress, the transformation is seamless: Bi's communal solidarity becomes Jin's fire rising above the earth at dawn. The image text of Jin reads 'brightness emerges above the earth' — precisely what the verse describes. Alliance, when perfected, does not merely protect; it generates the conditions for a civilization-wide dawn, where every corner of the realm shares in the light.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store