解 → 小過
Hexagram 40: Deliverance → Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4, 6).
Line 1
初六 无咎。
Six at the beginning means: Without blame.
Line 2
九二 田獲三狐。得黃矢。貞吉。
Nine in the second place means: One kills three foxes in the field And receives a yellow arrow. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Line 4
九四 解而拇。朋至斯孚。
Nine in the fourth place means: Deliver yourself from your great toe. Then the companion comes, And him you can trust.
Line 6
上六 公用射隼于高墉之上。獲之无不利。
Six at the top means: The prince shoots at a hawk on a high wall. He kills it. Everything serves to further.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
丹書之信，言不負語。易我驎驥，君子有德。
The cinnabar letter pledges faith; its words do not betray the promise. Exchanged for my fine qilin steed, the noble man possesses virtue.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over water exceeds slightly into thunder above the mountain — the careful modesty of Small Exceeding. The trust of a vermilion letter: words never betray their promise. In exchange for my fine steeds, the gentleman demonstrates his virtue. The 'cinnabar letter' (danshu) refers to a pledge written in red, the most solemn form of covenant in ancient China — later formalized as the 'iron credential' guaranteeing protection. The exchange of noble horses for trustworthy alliance embodies honorable dealing. From Deliverance to Small Exceeding, the freed person acts with slightly more than expected — exceeding in courtesy, exceeding in faithfulness. The mountain below absorbs the thunder above: great power expressed in small, precise gestures of integrity.
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