小畜 → 小過
Hexagram 9: Small Taming → Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 復自道。何其咎。吉。
Nine at the beginning means: Return to the way. How could there be blame in this? Good fortune.
Line 2
九二 牽復。吉。
Nine in the second place means: He allows himself to be drawn into returning. Good fortune.
Line 4
六四 有孚。血去惕出。无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: If you are sincere, blood vanishes and fear gives way. No blame.
Line 5
九五 有孚攣如。富以其鄰。
Nine in the fifth place means: If you are sincere and loyally attached, You are rich in your neighbor.
Line 6
上九 既雨既處。尚德載。婦貞厲。月幾望。君子征凶。
Nine at the top means: The rain comes, there is rest. This is due to the lasting effect of character. Perseverance brings the woman into danger. The moon is nearly full. If the superior man persists, Misfortune comes.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
關雎淑女，配我君子；少妻在門，君子嘉喜。
The osprey cries for a virtuous maiden, a fit match for my lord. The young wife stands at the gate; the noble man rejoices.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind above heaven meets thunder resting above the mountain — Small Exceeding's modest overstepping. The verse quotes the Shijing's opening ode 'Guan Ju': ospreys cry on the river islet, and the gentle maiden is a worthy match for the gentleman. A young bride stands at the gate; the gentleman rejoices. From Small Taming to Small Exceeding, the verse finds in Xiao Guo's cautious overreach the courage to make a match. The poem's restraint is the key: this is not Great Exceeding's structural strain but a small, appropriate step beyond propriety's usual boundaries — the heart's quiet boldness in declaring its intent. The osprey's cry announces that even modest initiative, rightly timed, brings the match that fulfills both partners.
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