Hexagram 49 as yes or no
Hexagram 49 Reform as a yes-or-no answer
Ge answers 'should I change this?' with a qualified yes: yes, when the day is ripe, when you will be trusted, and when the change is made cleanly. The judgment holds out great success and the disappearance of regret, but it opens with a warning that belief comes only after the deed, so expect to act without applause and earn it afterwards. The Tuan's examples are the seasons and the founding of dynasties: changes that were inevitable and still had to be timed.
If the changing line is in the lower trigram, the answer is 'not yet': line one binds itself, line two waits for the completed day, line three talks it through three times. If it is in the upper trigram, the answer is yes with a manner attached: line four acts on trust, line five acts openly, and line six says the change is already done and the right move now is to stop.
The hexagram in brief
Fire in the lake: two that extinguish each other — change is forced. A revolution is believed only after it is done; supreme success when the time is ripe and the cause is right.
Change only when necessary, time it well, and carry people with you; a good reform ends regrets rather than creating them.
The judgment
革：巳日乃孚，元亨利貞，悔亡。(What takes place as indicated by) Ko is believed in only after it has been accomplished. There will be great progress and success. Advantage will come from being firm and correct. (In that case) occasion for repentance will disappear.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 革 Reform has its own page:
- 初九Nine at the beginningbound fast · not yet · hold firm
- 六二Six in the second placethe ripe day · timing · go forward
- 九三Nine in the third placethree times over · haste · earn belief
- 九四Nine in the fourth placechange the mandate · trust · regret gone
- 九五Nine in the fifth placetiger's stripes · visible change · trusted before asking
- 上六Six at the topleopard's spots · changed faces · stop and hold
The same hexagram for
Questions
- Does hexagram 49, Reform, mean yes or no?
- Ge answers 'should I change this?' with a qualified yes: yes, when the day is ripe, when you will be trusted, and when the change is made cleanly. The judgment holds out great success and the disappearance of regret, but it opens with a warning that belief comes only after the deed, so expect to act without applause and earn it afterwards. The Tuan's examples are the seasons and the founding of dynasties: changes that were inevitable and still had to be timed.
- What does Hexagram 49, 革 Reform, mean?
- Fire in the lake: two that extinguish each other — change is forced. A revolution is believed only after it is done; supreme success when the time is ripe and the cause is right.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).