Anonymous (traditionally attributed to King Wen, the Duke of Zhou and Confucius) · Complete work
Hexagram 62 · Xiǎo Guò ䷽
Hexagram 62 · Xiǎo Guò ䷽ of 69. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
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小過：亨。利貞。可小事，不可大事。飛鳥遺之音，不宜上宜下，大吉。
初六：飛鳥以凶。
六二：過其祖，遇其妣；不及其君，遇其臣；无咎。
九三：弗過防之，從或戕之，凶。
九四：无咎，弗過遇之。往厲必戒，勿用永貞。
六五：密雲不雨，自我西郊，公弋取彼在穴。
上六：弗遇過之，飛鳥離之，凶，是謂災眚。
彖曰：小過，小者過而亨也。過以利貞，與時行也。柔得中，是以小事吉也。剛失位而不中，是以不可大事也。有飛鳥之象焉，有飛鳥遺之音，不宜上宜下，大吉；上逆而下順也。
象曰：山上有雷，小過；君子以行過乎恭，喪過乎哀，用過乎儉。
飛鳥以凶，不可如何也。
不及其君，臣不可過也。
從或戕之，凶如何也。
弗過遇之，位不當也。往厲必戒，終不可長也。
密云不雨，已上也。
弗遇過之，已亢也。
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the classical Chinese, passage for passage, covering all 64 hexagrams with their judgments, line statements and attached commentaries, and the remaining Wings (the Great Commentary, the Discussion of the Trigrams, the Sequence and the Contrasts of the Hexagrams), 1,204 passages in all.
Xiao Guo (Small Excess): Success. Steadfastness is favorable. Small affairs may be undertaken, not great ones. A flying bird leaves its cry behind: it is not fitting to rise, but fitting to descend. Great good fortune.
Six at the beginning: A flying bird brings misfortune.
Six in the second place: Passing the grandfather, one meets the grandmother; not reaching the ruler, one meets his minister. No blame.
Nine in the third place: If one does not go past, guard against it; if one follows, someone may strike. Misfortune.
Nine in the fourth place: No blame. Without going past, one meets it. Going forth brings danger: be on guard. Do not persist in lasting steadfastness.
Six in the fifth place: Dense clouds without rain come from our western outskirts. The duke shoots with a tethered arrow and takes the creature in its cave.
Six at the top: Not meeting it, one passes beyond. The flying bird is caught. Misfortune: this is called calamity and disaster.
The Judgment Commentary says: In Xiao Guo, the small exceeds its bounds and succeeds. Excess joined to favorable steadfastness means moving with the time. The yielding attains the center, so small affairs bring good fortune. Firmness loses its place and is not central, so great affairs cannot be undertaken. There is the image of a flying bird: its cry lingers behind it. Not rising but descending brings great good fortune, for rising is contrary and descending is obedient.
The Image Commentary says: Thunder above the mountain: Xiao Guo. Thus the noble person exceeds in reverence in conduct, in sorrow in mourning, and in thrift in spending.
A flying bird brings misfortune: nothing can be done about it.
Not reaching the ruler: a minister must not surpass him.
If one follows, someone may strike: how grave the misfortune!
Without going past, one meets it: the position is not fitting. Going forth brings danger, so one must be on guard; it cannot endure to the end.
Dense clouds without rain: they have already risen too high.
Not meeting it, one passes beyond: one has risen too high.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the classical Chinese, covering all 64 hexagrams with their judgments, line statements and attached commentaries, and the remaining Wings (the Great Commentary, the Discussion of the Trigrams, the Sequence and the Contrasts of the Hexagrams), 1,204 passages in all.
Xiao Guo (Small Excess): Success. Staying the course is favorable. Small matters can be done, but great matters cannot. A flying bird leaves its call behind. It is better to go down than up. Great good fortune.
Six at the beginning: The flying bird brings misfortune.
Six in the second place: He passes his grandfather and meets his grandmother. He does not reach his ruler but meets the ruler's servant. No blame.
Nine in the third place: If you do not take extra precautions, someone following you may harm you. Misfortune.
Nine in the fourth place: No blame. He does not pass by but meets it. Going forward is dangerous; take care. Do not insist on staying the course forever.
Six in the fifth place: Thick clouds but no rain come from our western outskirts. The duke shoots with a corded arrow and catches the creature in its hole.
Six at the top: He does not meet it but passes beyond it. A flying bird gets caught up in it. Misfortune: this is called calamity and harm.
The Judgment Commentary says: Xiao Guo (Small Excess) means that small things go beyond their limits yet succeed. Going beyond while staying the course is favorable when it moves with the time. The yielding reaches the middle, so small matters bring good fortune. The firm is out of place and not in the middle, so great matters cannot be done. There is the image of a flying bird: its call is left behind; going down is better than going up and brings great good fortune, because upward movement goes against the way while downward movement follows it.
The Image Commentary says: Thunder above the mountain: this is Xiao Guo (Small Excess). So the noble person goes beyond what is usual in showing respect, mourns more deeply at a funeral, and spends more sparingly.
The flying bird brings misfortune; nothing can be done about it.
He does not reach his ruler because a servant cannot go beyond his ruler.
If someone following you harms you, what misfortune that is!
He does not pass by but meets it because his position is not appropriate. Going forward is dangerous, so take care: it cannot last in the end.
Thick clouds but no rain mean things have already gone too high.
He does not meet it but passes beyond it: he has gone too far.