大過

Hexagram 20: Contemplation → Hexagram 28: Great Exceeding

Contemplation
Wind / Earth
大過
Great Exceeding
Lake / Wind
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4, 6).

Line 2

六二 闚觀。利女貞。

kuīa pry
guānperspective
reward
a young lady
zhēnpersistence

Six in the second place means: Contemplation through the crack of the door. Furthering for the perseverance of a woman.

Line 3

六三 觀我生進退。

guānperceiving
our
shēnglives
jìnas
退tuìand

Six in the third place means: Contemplation of my life Decides the choice Between advance and retreat.

Line 4

六四 觀國之光。利用賓于王。

guānperceiving
guóa country
zhī...'s
guāngglory
it is worthwhile
yòngand useful
bīnbeing a guest
to
wángits

Six in the fourth place means: Contemplation of the light of the kingdom. It furthers one to exert influence as the guest of a king.

Line 6

上九 觀其生。君子无咎。

guānperceiving
another's
shēnglives
jūna noble
young one
avoids
jiùblame

Nine at the top means: Contemplation of his life. The superior man is without blame.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramWind LakeThe Gentle → The Joyous
Lower TrigramEarth WindThe Receptive → The Gentle

Yilin Verse

黃離白日,照我四國,元首昭明,民賴其福。

Radiant and splendid as the white sun, it shines upon our four kingdoms; the sovereign is illustrious and wise -- the people rely upon his blessing.

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

Commentary

Wind over earth contemplates radiant illumination. A yellow brightness like the white sun shines across the four quarters of the realm. The head of state is luminous and wise, and the people depend upon his blessings. The verse is a hymn to sagely rulership in its purest form: the ruler as sun, his virtue as light, his people as beneficiaries. Lake over wind forms Great Exceeding, where the ridgepole bows under extraordinary weight. From Contemplation to Great Exceeding, the transformation warns even as it celebrates: brilliance this intense places extraordinary demands on the structure that bears it. The sage-king must be great enough to exceed normal limits, or the weight of universal expectation will break him.

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