小過

Hexagram 17: Following → Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding

Following
Lake / Thunder
小過
Small Exceeding
Mountain / Thunder
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 4, 5, 6).

Line 4

九四 隨有獲。貞凶。有孚在道以明。何咎。

suífollow
yǒuhas
huòsuccess
zhēnpersistence
xiōngunfortunate
yǒube
true
zàion
dàoa way
in order to be
míngclear
where is
jiùthe blame

Nine in the fourth place means: Following creates success. Perseverance brings misfortune. To go one's way with sincerity brings clarity. How could there be blame in this?

Line 5

九五 孚于嘉。吉。

trust
in
jiāexcellence
promising

Nine in the fifth place means: Sincere in the good. Good fortune.

Line 6

上六 拘係之。乃從維之。王用亨于西山。

seize
and bind
zhīthem
nǎiand then
cóngfollow
wéiholding fast
zhīthem
wángthe Sovereign
yòngwill make
hēngfulfillment
to
西the Western (the site of the Zhou
shānMountain ancestral shrine)

Six at the top means: He meets with firm allegiance And is still further bound. The king introduces him To the Western Mountain.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramLake MountainThe Joyous → Keeping Still
Lower TrigramThunder Thunder

Yilin Verse

慈烏鳴鳩,執一無尤;寢門內治,君子悅喜。

Compassionate crow, cooing dove, holding to one thing without fault; at the sleeping-chamber gate, the household is governed -- the gentleman is pleased and glad.

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

Commentary

Thunder rests within the lake, and the compassionate crow and cooing dove embody steadfast devotion. The crow — symbol of filial piety in Chinese tradition, as it feeds its aging parents — and the dove, known for even-handed distribution of food among its young, together represent constancy without blame: 'holding to one, no fault.' Within the household, the inner chambers are well governed, and the gentleman finds quiet satisfaction. From Following to Small Exceeding, thunder atop the mountain in Xiao Guo counsels going slightly beyond in humility and frugality. The verse shows how small, consistent virtues — filial feeding, fair nurture, domestic order — accumulate into the 'small excess' of goodness that Xiao Guo celebrates.

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