Hexagram 62, line 1
初六Line 1 of Small Excess
Six at the beginning · 小過 xiǎo guò
爻辭 The line text
飛鳥以凶。The first line, divided, suggests (the idea of) a bird flying, (and ascending) till the issue is evil.
飛鳥以凶，不可如何也。'There is a bird flying (and ascending) till the result is evil:'—nothing can be done to avoid this issue.
In plain words
The first line is a weak line at the very bottom of the mountain, and it is drawn upward: it corresponds to the strong line four, and in a hexagram whose Judgment says 'not fitting to go up, fitting to go down', it goes up. The text is four characters, 'a flying bird, thereby evil' — the bird leaves the ground at the first opportunity, in the time when small things ought to stay small. The small Image is as terse: 'nothing can be done about it' (不可如何也), which the commentators read as the fate of a weak line that will not keep still at the beginning. In a time of small excess, the first mistake is to make the small thing large.
If this line is changing
Do not take off at the first chance; whatever is pulling you upward right now is the one direction the moment forbids, so keep low and keep it small.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin line that moves when cast.
- It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 艮 Gen (Keeping Still) (mountain).
- It corresponds (應) with line 4: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
小過 Small Excess becomes ䷶ 55 豐 Plenty
Thunder and lightning together: abundance. The king reaches it; no sorrow — be like the sun at noon. But the sun at noon begins to set: fullness is a moment, not a possession.
What it becomes55 · 豐 PlentyfēngThe six lines of 小過 Small Excess
- 初六Six at the beginningflying too soon · the bird rises · nothing to be done
- 六二Six in the second placepassing the grandfather · meeting the minister · keeping distance
- 九三Nine in the third placeno extra guard · attacked from behind · evil
- 九四Nine in the fourth placemeeting without exceeding · going on is dangerous · do not fix forever
- 六五Six in the fifth placeclouds without rain · too high · the bird in the hole
- 上六Six at the topovershooting · the bird flies off · self-made calamity
Read 小過 Small Excess for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six at the beginning of hexagram 62, Small Excess, mean?
- The first line is a weak line at the very bottom of the mountain, and it is drawn upward: it corresponds to the strong line four, and in a hexagram whose Judgment says 'not fitting to go up, fitting to go down', it goes up. The text is four characters, 'a flying bird, thereby evil' — the bird leaves the ground at the first opportunity, in the time when small things ought to stay small. The small Image is as terse: 'nothing can be done about it' (不可如何也), which the commentators read as the fate of a weak line that will not keep still at the beginning. In a time of small excess, the first mistake is to make the small thing large.
- What does hexagram 62 become when line 1 changes?
- Small Excess becomes hexagram 55, 豐 Plenty: Thunder and lightning together: abundance. The king reaches it; no sorrow — be like the sun at noon. But the sun at noon begins to set: fullness is a moment, not a possession.
- Is line 1 of Small Excess in its correct place?
- It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).