First, we should notice that here the upper trigram of the original hexagram changes from Gen into Kun. In the Meng hexagram, Gen has two layers of meaning: first, it represents obstacles; second, it represents the mother bird that incubates the eggs. Kun likewise has two meanings: first, disappearance; second, the mother. Considering that the fifth line already indicates a successful hatching, the change from Gen into Kun here means that the obstacle to incubation has disappeared, and the incubating mother bird has now become an official mother. This is the background of this line.

Why does the text say, “the young hatchlings face an attack”? In the Kun-Kan image of Transformed L6, Kan can be understood both as suffering harm and as bringing harm at the same time, so here it hints that the Kun side is facing an outside enemy and fighting against it. This suggests that after the chick has hatched, a natural enemy attacks. A snake attacking a bird’s nest and preying on young chicks is a common scene in nature. Since Kan also carries the image of a snake, this natural enemy could be a snake.

The Qian-Li image of Hidden L6 shows the result of this fight. As the trigram opposed to Kan, Li carries the image of overcoming the brought by Kan. Qian represents success. This shows that the birds resist the enemy and achieve victory.

Why do I say here that the mother bird and the young chicks resist the enemy together? Kun carries the image of the mother, while Kan carries the image of the child. The Kun-Kan image in Transformed L6 gives the picture of mother and child standing side by side. In the Hidden Hexagram, the upper trigram changes from Dui into Qian. Dui represents the young, the mouth, and pecking; Qian represents fierceness and success. This shows that the young chicks peck with their beaks and succeed. Taken together, the image suggests that both the mother bird and the young chicks contribute to the fight.

Now let us discuss the robber scenario. Robbers correspond to the Kan trigram. Kan carries images of secrecy, harm, evil, and darkness, and therefore in the I Ching, it often has the image of robbers or bandits. Li, as the opposite of Kan, carries the image of resisting and fighting against robbers. Thus, “To resist robbers is favorable; to act as a robber is not.” This sentence means that the Li-side energy is favored, while the Kan-side energy is not. Kun represents failure while Qian represents success, therefore Kun-Kan image in Transformed L6 indicates the Kan side fails; the Qian-Li image in Hidden L6 indicates the Li side succeeds. Therefore, we know the side that resists robbers winning, while the robber side fails.

Here the birds resist an invading enemy; this is analogous to human beings defending themselves against invading bandits. The two cases follow the same analogical logic.

As the final line of a hexagram, the sixth line often corresponds both to the ending of the story and to a reversal in the plot. This case is no exception. The first five lines tell the story of incubation; the sixth line then shows the mother bird and the young chicks resisting an outside enemy together. This is the conclusion of the story.

In the first five lines, Kan symbolizes the internal challenge of shell-breaking within the focal player’s group and is encouraged. Here, however, the crisis comes from outside the focal player’s group and needs to be resisted. In the first five lines, the Li image in the Hidden Hexagram represents the bonding relationship between the focal player and the embryo, and that relationship needs to be broken. Here, however, the bond between mother and child is precisely what the focal player needs to protect. From these two perspectives, the sixth line is a reversal of the plot.