小過

Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding → Hexagram 12: Standstill

小過
Small Exceeding
Mountain / Thunder
Standstill
Heaven / Earth
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

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

Line 1

初六 飛鳥以凶。

fēiflies
niǎobird
is on the way to
xiōngadversity

Six at the beginning means: The bird meets with misfortune through flying.

Line 4

九四 无咎。弗過遇之。往厲必戒。勿用永貞。

avoid
jiùharm
it
guògo beyond
to greet
zhīanother
wǎnggoing
difficult
and require
jièprecaution
do not
yòngpractice
yǒnglasting
zhēnpersistence

Nine in the fourth place means: No blame. He meets him without passing by. Going brings danger. One must be on guard. Do not act. Be constantly persevering.

Line 5

六五 密雲不雨。自我西郊。公弋取彼在穴。

thick
yúnclouds
but
rain
coming from
our
西western
jiāohorizon
gōngeven a duke
bowhunts with tethered/harpoon arrows
preferring
that
zàiin
xuécave

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.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramMountain HeavenKeeping Still → The Creative
Lower TrigramThunder EarthThe Arousing → The Receptive

Yilin Verse

衣繡夜遊,與君相逢。除患解惑,使我不憂。

Wandering at night in embroidered clothes, I meet my lord by chance; troubles dispelled, doubts resolved; he frees me from my cares.

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

Commentary

Thunder rumbles above the mountain, and someone wanders in embroidered robes through the night — a figure of concealed splendor. In the darkness, one encounters a lord who dispels anxiety and resolves confusion. The phrase 衣繡夜遊 evokes Xiang Yu's famous lament that wealth without homecoming is like wearing brocade at night — invisible glory. But here the night walk yields an unexpected meeting: the very obscurity that seemed wasteful becomes the condition for a transformative encounter. From Small Exceeding to Standstill, the mountain's thunder stills into heaven and earth refusing to communicate. Yet the verse is paradoxically hopeful: precisely when all channels close, a chance meeting in darkness breaks through the impasse. Standstill is not permanent when one walks through it wearing one's true colors.

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