Transformation · lines 1, 2, and 5

Good Manners becomes Gentleness

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

Moving the first, second and fifth lines turns both trigrams into Wind, and Good Manners becomes 57 Gentleness. The two judgments share the weight evenly. Good Manners counsels courtesy and attention to everyday matters rather than great undertakings. Gentleness says that gain comes through softness, not pressure: choose a path, stay on it steadily, and let small actions accumulate, with support from those above you. They agree remarkably well. This is a time for persuasion by grace, not force. Keep your manners, keep your actions modest, and keep going even if progress is hard to see. Seek the backing of people in a position to help. Success tends to appear gradually, through consistency more than display. Gentle persistence, done kindly and without hurry, is the whole method here.

What to read, in order

Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.

  1. The judgment of 22 Good Manners

    It's a time to be kind and courteous and to use good manners with others if you want good results in what you undertake. What might seem superficial at another time leads you to success now. It's a time to handle everyday matters, not great undertakings.

    Success. In small things, it is favorable to have somewhere to go.

  2. The judgment of 57 Gentleness

    It's a time when you'll gain and succeed through gentleness. This isn't the time for big actions, or for using pressure or force. It's a time to choose a path and stay on it steadily. Even if you don't see much progress, success will show itself through the build-up of small actions and through seeking the support of those above you.

    Small success. It is favorable to have somewhere to go. It is favorable to see the great person.

  3. Line 1 of 22 Good Manners

    Success in everyday matters now depends on using the resources that are yours, and no more.

    Adorning the feet; leaving the carriage and going on foot.

  4. Line 2 of 22 Good Manners

    Pay attention to what is essential; combining it with good manners will bring you achievement.

    Adorning the beard.

  5. Line 5 of 22 Good Manners

    Your genuine inner attitude, small as it may seem to you, is welcomed and accepted in higher circles.

    Adornment on the hill and in the garden. The roll of silk is meager. Distress; in the end, good fortune.

The trigrams

Below Fire Wind
Above Mountain Wind

The way back

57 Gentleness → 22 Good Manners
lines 1, 2, and 5

Other transformations of Good Manners

Make your own cast

The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.

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