Yarrow 综卦 source note · 2026-07-17

Shi He and Bi: What a Zong Gua Inverse Pair Shows

Compare Hexagram 21 Shi He (Biting Through) and Hexagram 22 Bi (Grace) as a zong gua inverse pair: reversed line order changes viewing direction without forecasting a transition.

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21 · Shi He · Biting Through

Biting Through. Success. It is favorable to let justice be administered. The Commentary on the Decision says: When there is something between the jaws, it is called Biting Through. Biting through brings success. The firm and the yielding are divided; movement joins with clarity; thunder and lightning unite and reveal their brilliance.

The Tuan commentary on Shi He explains it as "something within the mouth," while the Xiang commentary explains it as "thunder and lightning together.

Complete source entry

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22 · Bi · Grace

Grace: success. In small matters it is favorable to undertake something. The Commentary says: Grace has success. The yielding comes and adorns the firm, therefore there is success. The firm divides, ascends, and adorns the yielding, therefore in small matters it is favorable to undertake something.

The hexagram image of "fire beneath the mountain" allows one to perceive both pattern and brilliance within the firelight.

Complete source entry

What the 综卦 relation actually says

The local structured corpus records Hexagram 21's 综卦 (zong gua, inverse) as Hexagram 22, and Hexagram 22's inverse as Hexagram 21. In the corpus's stored six-line sequence, 101100 becomes 001101 when the order is reversed. Turning the figure end for end changes line positions while preserving each line's yin or yang polarity.

Reverse, compare, then test

Draw 101100 and 001101 in two columns, reverse the first sequence, and verify the match. Then copy one concrete phrase from the reference layer for Shi He and one from Bi; name one observable condition supporting each lens, choose one reversible check, and write what evidence would make you review the choice.

Common misread to avoid

A zong gua pair is not a before-and-after promise. Shi He does not automatically become Bi; reversed structure neither ranks the two figures nor says which one must follow.

Source boundary

The reference layers and the zong-gua relationship come from Yarrow's bundled structured Zhouyi corpus. The English wording is an editorial explanation of that stored relation. This note is not a fresh cast, a forecast, or a claim that one hexagram must turn into the other.