小過 → 否
Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding → Hexagram 12: Standstill
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5).
Line 1
初六 飛鳥以凶。
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。
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。
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
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.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store