震 → 小過
Hexagram 51: The Arousing Thunder → Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 3).
Line 1
初九 震來虩虩。後笑言啞啞。吉。
Nine at the beginning means: Shock comes–oh, oh! Then follow laughing words–ha, ha! Good fortune.
Line 3
六三 震蘇蘇。震行无眚。
Six in the third place means: Shock comes and makes one distraught. If shock spurs to action One remains free of misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
石門晨啟，荷蕢疾貧。遁世隱居，竟不逢時。
The stone gate opens at dawn; the basket-bearer grieves his poverty. Withdrawing from the world, dwelling in seclusion; in the end, he never meets his time.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder doubled meets thunder over mountain: shock exceeding slightly into Small Exceeding. The stone gate opens at dawn; the basket-carrier laments poverty. Withdrawing from the world to live in seclusion, he ultimately never meets his time. The verse alludes to two Analerta passages from the Xianwen chapter: the gatekeeper at the Stone Gate (石門) who recognizes Confucius as 'the one who knows it cannot be done but does it anyway,' and the man carrying a basket (荷蕢) who hears Confucius playing the chiming stone and perceives his frustrated ambition. Both are recluses who chose withdrawal over futile engagement. From The Arousing to Small Exceeding, thunder above mountain, the small bird should not fly too high. The verse embodies the recluse's judgment: better to exceed in humility than to persist in a world that refuses to listen.
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