小過

Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding → Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water

小過
Small Exceeding
Thunder / Mountain
The Abysmal Water
Water / Water
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4, 5).

Line 2

六二 過其祖。遇其妣。不及其君。遇其臣。无咎。

guòbypassing
one's own
ancestor
to meet with
one's own
grandmother
not
to reach
one's own
jūnleader
but meeting with
that
chénminister
no
jiùblame

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。

it
guògo beyond
fángto defend
zhīoneself
cóngfrom behind
huòsomebody
qiāngassault
zhīthis one
xiōngunfortunate

Nine in the third place means: If one is not extremely careful, Somebody may come up from behind and strike him. Misfortune.

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 TrigramThunder WaterThe Arousing → The Deep
Lower TrigramMountain WaterKeeping Still → The Deep

Yilin Verse

虞君好神,惠我老親。恭承宗廟,雖慍不去,復我內事。

The Lord of Yu honors the spirits, blessing my aged parents; reverently serving the ancestral temple; though vexed, he does not leave; he restores my household affairs.

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

Commentary

Thunder rumbles above the mountain, and the lord of Yu is devoted to the spirits, honoring his aged kin. He reverently maintains the ancestral temple, and though displeasure arises, he does not depart but continues managing internal affairs. The verse portrays a ruler whose piety anchors him to his duties despite adversity. The lord of Yu (虞君) maintains temple rites and family obligations even when pressured or provoked — his devotion to the spirits keeps him in place when political wisdom might counsel flight. From Small Exceeding to the Abysmal, the mountain's thunder becomes doubled water — peril upon peril. Yet the lord's refusal to abandon his post mirrors the Abysmal's teaching: when danger is constant, one survives not by fleeing but by maintaining inner sincerity through repeated trials.

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