小過

Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding → Hexagram 58: The Joyous Lake

小過
Small Exceeding
Thunder / Mountain
The Joyous Lake
Lake / Lake
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 5).

Line 1

初六 飛鳥以凶。

fēiflies
niǎobird
is on the way to
xiōngadversity

Six at the beginning means: The bird meets with misfortune through flying.

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 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 LakeThe Arousing → The Joyous
Lower TrigramMountain LakeKeeping Still → The Joyous

Yilin Verse

含血走禽,不曉五音。匏巴鼓瑟,不悅於心。

A blood-mouthed running beast, knowing nothing of the five tones; even Bao Ba playing the zither brings no joy to its heart.

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

Commentary

Thunder rumbles above the mountain, but the blood-mouthed beast that runs through the wilds knows nothing of the five musical tones. Even when Bao Ba plays his zither — the legendary musician whose art could make fish leap from water and horses abandon their feed — the creature's heart remains unmoved. The verse contrasts the pinnacle of aesthetic refinement with brute animal indifference. Bao Ba (匏巴) was a zither master whose skill allegedly stirred all living things, yet even his art cannot penetrate a nature fundamentally incapable of receiving it. From Small Exceeding to the Joyous, the mountain's thunder gives way to paired lakes — mutual delight, shared discourse. But joy requires the capacity for receptivity, and the beast that cannot hear music cannot participate in the Joyous. Delight is wasted on the unreceptive.

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