小過 → 屯
Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding → Hexagram 3: Difficulty at the Beginning
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 5).
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 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
鳥飛鼓翼，喜樂堯德。虞夏美功，要荒賓服。
Birds fly beating their wings, rejoicing in Yao's virtue; Yu and Xia achieved great merit, and the distant lands submitted as guests.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder rumbles above the mountain as birds beat their wings in joyful ascent, celebrating the virtue of Yao. The accomplishments of Yu and the Xia dynasty extend even to the remote borderlands, where outlying peoples submit in admiration. The verse links avian flight to imperial radiance — birds rising on thermals mirror the reach of sagely governance spreading outward without force. Yao's moral luminance and Yu's hydraulic achievements together represent civilization's fullest expression. From Small Exceeding to Difficulty at the Beginning, the mountain's thunder transforms into clouds and thunder churning together — the primordial labor of establishing order. The birds' celebratory flight contrasts with the struggle ahead: what Yao perfected must be rebuilt from scratch each generation.
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