小畜

Hexagram 9: Small Taming → Hexagram 42: Increase

小畜
Small Taming
Wind / Heaven
Increase
Wind / Thunder
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 3).

Line 2

九二 牽復。吉。

qiāndrawn
to return
promising

Nine in the second place means: He allows himself to be drawn into returning. Good fortune.

Line 3

九三 輿說輻。夫妻反目。

輿the carriage
shuōthrows off
its wheel's spokes
husband
and wife
fǎnare wild-
eyed

Nine in the third place means: The spokes burst out of the wagon wheels. Man and wife roll their eyes.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramWind Wind
Lower TrigramHeaven ThunderThe Creative → The Arousing

Yilin Verse

禹作神鼎,伯益衘指;斧斤高閣,憧位獨坐;賣庸不售,苦困為禍。

Yu forged the divine cauldrons; Bo Yi pointed the way. Axes set high on the shelf; the attendant sits alone at his post. Selling his labor, none will buy; bitter hardship becomes disaster.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Wind above heaven meets wind and thunder together — Increase's dynamic generosity. Yu the Great casts the sacred cauldrons, and Bo Yi bites his finger in agitation. Yet axes and hatchets are shelved high above; the servant sits alone at his post. He tries to sell his labor but finds no buyer; hardship and frustration become his lot. The verse juxtaposes two registers: the heroic age of Yu and his minister Bo Yi — who helped tame the floods and later was passed over for succession — against the anonymous laborer whose skills go unpurchased. From Small Taming to Increase, the promise of gain is undercut by misallocated talent. The cauldrons are cast, but the craftsman sits idle.

The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store

Related Pages