Yarrow paired source note · 2026-07-17

Lin and Dun: Read an Opposite Pair Without Ranking It

Compare Hexagram 19 Lin (Approach) with Hexagram 33 Dun (Retreat) as a line-by-line opposite pair, without turning contrast into prediction.

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19 · Lin · Approach

Lin. Approach. Sublime success. Furthering through perseverance. When the eighth month comes, there will be misfortune. The Commentary on the Decision says: In Approach, the firm gradually waxes and grows. Joyous and devoted, the firm holds the central place and finds response. Great success through uprightness — this is the way of Heaven. "When the eighth month comes, there will be misfortune" — for the waning is not far off.

In the hexagram Lin, there is the trend of yang energy gradually growing. Yang is the great, and represents the noble person.

Complete source entry

33 · Dun · Retreat

Retreat: Success. In small matters, it is advantageous to persevere. The Tuan says: "Retreat brings success" — by retreating, one attains success. The firm is in its proper place and finds response; one moves with the time. "In small matters it is advantageous to persevere" — for the yin gradually grows and spreads. Great indeed is the meaning of the time of Retreat. The Image says: Below heaven there is the mountain: the image of Retreat.

The hexagram statement of Dun is developed closely around the image of "mountain beneath heaven.

Complete source entry

What the structural contrast actually says

The local structured corpus records Hexagram 19's opposite as Hexagram 33, and Hexagram 33's opposite as Hexagram 19. Every line changes polarity across this pair. Use that structural fact to compare conditions, not to label one side good and the other bad.

Two-column comparison practice

Make two columns headed Lin and Dun. Under each, copy one phrase from its reference translation and one observable condition from the situation you are studying. Circle the condition that would have to change before the other column became more relevant. Choose one reversible step and a review date.

Common misread to avoid

An opposite pair is not a before-and-after promise. Lin does not automatically become Dun, and the pair does not decide which person or outcome is correct. It is a disciplined contrast for closer observation.

Source boundary

The two reference translations and context notes come from Yarrow's bundled structured Zhouyi authority layer. The opposite-pair relation comes from the same local corpus. This comparison is not a fresh cast or a forecast.