小過

Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding → Hexagram 38: Opposition

小過
Small Exceeding
Mountain / Thunder
Opposition
Fire / Lake
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

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

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 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.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramMountain FireKeeping Still → The Clinging
Lower TrigramThunder LakeThe Arousing → The Joyous

Yilin Verse

倉庾多億,宋公危殆。吳子巢門,殞命失所。

Granaries hold countless millions; the Duke of Song is imperiled; the son of Wu at the Nest Gate loses his life and his place.

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

Commentary

Thunder rumbles above the mountain, and granaries overflow with billions in store — yet the Duke of Song faces mortal peril. Wu Zixu stands at the Chao Gate, and the ruler loses his life and his domain. The verse juxtaposes abundance with catastrophe: material wealth cannot prevent political disaster. The Duke of Song (宋公) in peril may allude to any of several Song rulers who met violent ends despite their state's prosperity. Wu Zixu's presence at the Chao Gate invokes his role in the Wu-Chu conflict, when he brought an army to the gates of Ying. From Small Exceeding to Opposition, the mountain's thunder transforms into fire above the lake — two forces that look at each other but move apart. Wealth and security, seemingly paired, prove irreconcilable.

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