同人小過

Hexagram 13: Fellowship → Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding

同人
Fellowship
Heaven / Fire
小過
Small Exceeding
Mountain / Thunder
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 3, 4, 5).

Line 3

九三 伏戎于莽。升其高陵。三歲不興。

cache
róngweapons
in
mǎngunderbrush
shēngclimbing up
one's
gāohighest
línghills
sānthree
suìyears
of
xīngexuberance

Nine in the third place means: He hides weapons in the thicket; He climbs the high hill in front of it. For three years he does not rise up.

Line 4

九四 乘其墉。弗克攻。吉。

chéngmounting
one's
yōngbattlement
but not
capable of
gōngto attack
promising

Nine in the fourth place means: He climbs up on his wall; he cannot attack. Good fortune.

Line 5

九五 同人先號咷而後笑。大師克相遇。

tóngfellowship with
rénothers
xiānbegins
háowailing
táoweeping
érand then
hòufollows with
xiàolaughter
great
shīarmies
can manage
xiāngeach other
to entertain

Nine in the fifth place means: Men bound in fellowship first weep and lament, But afterward they laugh. After great struggles they succeed in meeting.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramHeaven MountainThe Creative → Keeping Still
Lower TrigramFire ThunderThe Clinging → The Arousing

Yilin Verse

王孫季子,相與為友;明允篤誠,升擢慶舉。

Noble scion and youngest son make friends with one another. Bright, sincere, earnest, and true; they are promoted and raised in celebration.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Heaven and fire form Fellowship as noble companions form a bond of mutual advancement. A prince and a gentleman become friends; their sincerity is bright and their integrity unwavering. Together they are promoted and celebrated. The verse is a compact ode to meritorious friendship — not patronage but genuine fellowship between equals whose combined virtue earns recognition. From Fellowship to Small Exceeding, the transformation tempers this success with caution. Thunder above the mountain in Small Exceeding; the noble man exceeds in reverence, in mourning, and in frugality. Even celebrated friendship must guard against overreach. The pair's elevation is real, but Small Exceeding warns: let conduct be a little too humble rather than a little too proud.

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