小過

Hexagram 32: Duration → Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding

Duration
Thunder / Wind
小過
Small Exceeding
Mountain / Thunder
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 6).

Line 1

初六 浚恆貞凶。无攸利。

jùndig
héngfor
zhēnpersistence
xiōngis disappointing
this is no
yōua direction
with merit

Six at the beginning means: Seeking duration too hastily brings misfortune persistently. Nothing that would further.

Line 2

九二 悔亡。

huǐregrets
wángpass

Nine in the second place means: Remorse disappears.

Line 3

九三 不恆其德。或承之羞。貞吝。

lacking
héngcontinuity
in
character
huòperhaps
chéngaccept
zhīin
xiūunworthiness
zhēnto persist
lìnis embarrassment

Nine in the third place means: He who does not give duration to his character Meets with disgrace. Persistent humiliation.

Line 4

九四 田无禽。

tiánthe field
is nothing without
qíngame

Nine in the fourth place means: No game in the field.

Line 6

上六 振恆凶。

zhènexcited
héngcontinuously
xiōngunfortunate

Six at the top means: Restlessness as an enduring condition brings misfortune.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramThunder MountainThe Arousing → Keeping Still
Lower TrigramWind ThunderThe Gentle → The Arousing

Yilin Verse

疊疊壘壘,如其之室,一身十子,古公治邑。

Layer upon layer, tier upon tier, like entering one’s own chamber. One body, ten children; the Ancient Duke governs his settlement.

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

Commentary

Thunder above wind, Duration's generative constancy, meets thunder above mountain — Small Exceeding's careful modesty. Layer upon layer, pile upon pile, a household grows. One body produces ten children; this is Gugong Danfu building his settlement. Gugong Danfu (Ancient Duke Danfu) was the grandfather of King Wen of Zhou who led his people from Bin to the slopes of Mount Qi, where he established the settlement that would become the foundation of the Zhou dynasty. The verse captures his achievement: from one family, an entire community rises through patient accumulation. From Duration to Small Exceeding, the steady rhythm expresses itself through humble excess — going slightly beyond in reverence, grief, and frugality. Gugong's settlement-building embodies this: small surpasses that, compounded through Duration, become a dynasty's foundation.

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