小過 → 噬嗑
Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding → Hexagram 21: Biting Through
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 6).
Line 1
初六 飛鳥以凶。
Six at the beginning means: The bird meets with misfortune through flying.
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 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
湯世之憂，轉解喜來。
The troubles of Tang's era; worry turns to arriving joy.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder rumbles above the mountain, recalling the anxieties of Tang's era — yet worry reverses into joy. The verse is strikingly brief, compressing an entire dynastic narrative into two phrases. The 'worries of Tang's age' (湯世之憂) likely allude to the droughts and moral crises that plagued the late Xia and early Shang transition, when Tang of Shang took responsibility for heaven's displeasure by offering himself as sacrifice at the Mulberry Forest altar. The reversal from sorrow to gladness mirrors Tang's own arc: righteous suffering transmuted into legitimate authority. From Small Exceeding to Biting Through, the mountain's thunder becomes fire and thunder joined — decisive force that breaks through obstruction. What once weighed upon the heart is now resolved with a single clear stroke.
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