小過 → 噬嗑

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.