小畜 → 升
Hexagram 9: Small Taming → Hexagram 46: Pushing Upward
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 復自道。何其咎。吉。
Nine at the beginning means: Return to the way. How could there be blame in this? Good fortune.
Line 5
九五 有孚攣如。富以其鄰。
Nine in the fifth place means: If you are sincere and loyally attached, You are rich in your neighbor.
Line 6
上九 既雨既處。尚德載。婦貞厲。月幾望。君子征凶。
Nine at the top means: The rain comes, there is rest. This is due to the lasting effect of character. Perseverance brings the woman into danger. The moon is nearly full. If the superior man persists, Misfortune comes.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
白鶴𠾑珠，夜食為明；懷安德音，身受光榮。
The white crane holds a pearl in its beak, feeding at night for light. Cherishing peace and virtuous words; the body receives glory and honor.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind above heaven transforms into the steady upward growth of wood within earth. A white crane holds a pearl in its beak, feeding in the night to create its own light. Cherishing peaceful virtue and fine reputation, the crane's body receives glory. From Small Taming to Pushing Upward, gentle refinement becomes incremental ascent. Sheng's image — wood growing within the earth — is the most organic form of progress: slow, steady, nourished from below. The luminous pearl in the crane's beak is inner virtue that generates its own illumination even in darkness. One need not wait for dawn when one carries the light within. The upward path is not a leap but a slow, self-radiant climb.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store