小過 → 履
Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding → Hexagram 10: Treading
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 5, 6).
Line 1
初六 飛鳥以凶。
Six at the beginning means: The bird meets with misfortune through flying.
Line 2
六二 過其祖。遇其妣。不及其君。遇其臣。无咎。
Six in the second place means: She passes by her ancestor And meets her ancestress. He does not reach his prince And meets the official. No blame.
Line 3
九三 弗過防之。從或戕之。凶。
Nine in the third place means: If one is not extremely careful, Somebody may come up from behind and strike him. Misfortune.
Line 5
六五 密雲不雨。自我西郊。公弋取彼在穴。
Six in the fifth place means: Dense clouds, No rain from our western territory. The prince shoots and hits him who is in the cave.
Line 6
上六 弗遇過之。飛鳥離之。凶。是謂災眚。
Six at the top means: He passes him by, not meeting him. The flying bird leaves him. Misfortune. This means bad luck and injury.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
衘命辱使，不堪厥事。中墜落去，更為負載。
Receiving orders as a humiliated envoy, unequal to the task; midway he falls and drops it; another must bear the burden.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder rumbles above the mountain as an envoy receives his commission but proves unequal to the task — a humiliating embassy. Midway through the journey he falls and loses his footing, and what was meant to be a mission of honor becomes an additional burden. The verse captures bureaucratic overreach in miniature: a minor official is entrusted with responsibilities beyond his capacity, stumbles under the weight, and returns carrying more trouble than he departed with. From Small Exceeding to Treading, the mountain's thunder transforms into heaven above the lake — the image of walking upon the tiger's tail with careful distinction. The envoy's failure is a failure of treading: stepping beyond one's competence without the discernment to know where the edge lies.
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