小過

Hexagram 47: Oppression → Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding

Oppression
Lake / Water
小過
Small Exceeding
Mountain / Thunder
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

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

Line 1

初六 臀困于株木。入于幽谷。三歲不覿。

túnwith rump
kùnbeset
by
zhūcane
of wood
entering
into
yōuthe gloomy
valley
sānfor three
suìyears
not
覿seen face to face

Six at the beginning means: One sits oppressed under a bare tree And strays into a gloomy valley. For three years one sees nothing.

Line 2

九二 困于酒食。朱紱方來。利用享祀。征凶无咎。

kùnbeset
amidst
jiǔwine
shíand food
zhūthe scarlet
sashed nobles
fāngsuddenly
láiarrive
worthwhile
yòngand useful
xiǎngto offer up
the sacrifice + to give up this spirit
zhēnginitiative
xiōngbut

Nine in the second place means: One is oppressed while at meat and drink. The man with the scarlet knee bands is just coming. It furthers one to offer sacrifice. To set forth brings misfortune. No blame.

Line 4

九四 來徐徐。困于金車。吝。有終。

láiapproaching
slowly
so slowly
kùnbeset
in
jīnmetal
chēchariot
lìnbut the
yǒuhas
zhōngan end

Nine in the fourth place means: He comes very quietly, oppressed in a golden carriage. Humiliation, but the end is reached.

Line 5

九五 劓刖。困于赤紱。乃徐有說。利用祭祀。

nose cut off
yuèand feet cut off
kùnbeset
by
chìthe blush
sashed ministers
nǎiand only then
slowly
yǒugetting
shuōrelief
worthwhile
yòngand useful
to give
and a

Nine in the fifth place means: His nose and feet are cut off. Oppression at the hands of the man with the purple knee bands. Joy comes softly. It furthers one to make offerings and libations.

Line 6

上六 困于葛藟。于臲卼。曰動悔有悔。征吉。

kùnbeset
by
creeping
lěiand vines
proceeding
nièunsteadiliness
and awkwardly(ness)
yuēand
dòngthat action
huǐis
yǒuto have
huǐthe regret(s)
zhēngand expedite
is promising

Six at the top means: He is oppressed by creeping vines. He moves uncertainly and says, "Movement brings remorse. " If one feels remorse over this and makes a start, Good fortune comes.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramLake MountainThe Joyous → Keeping Still
Lower TrigramWater ThunderThe Deep → The Arousing

Yilin Verse

鳳有十子,同巢共母。仁聖在位,懽以相保。興彼周魯。

The phoenix has ten children, sharing one nest and one mother. A sage of benevolence presides; joyfully they keep one another. Thus flourish the realms of Zhou and Lu.

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

Commentary

A lake without water, yet the phoenix has ten offspring, sharing one nest and one mother. A sage of benevolence and holiness sits in authority, and all protect each other in mutual joy, building up the states of Zhou and Lu. The phoenix's ten children in a single nest represent the ideal of a large, harmonious royal family, each member supporting the others under one roof. Zhou and Lu are named together because Lu was the fief granted to the Duke of Zhou, the institutional heart of Zhou culture. From Oppression to Small Exceeding, thunder atop the mountain, the gentleman is excessively reverent, excessively sorrowful, excessively frugal. The care that a phoenix takes with ten young captures Small Exceeding's spirit: going beyond the norm in nurturing, attending to each detail with more devotion than strict necessity demands.

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