HEXAGRAM 62 – Hsiao Kuo – Preponderance of the Small
Above CHEN THE AROUSING, THUNDER
Below KEN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
While in the hexagram Ta Kuo, PREPONDERANCE OF THE GREAT (28),
the strong lines
- preponderate and
-
are within inclosed between weak lines at the
- top and
- bottom,
- top and
the present hexagram
- has weak lines preponderating,
though here again
- they are on the outside,
- the strong lines being within.
This indeed is the basis of
the exceptional situation indicated by the hexagram.
When
strong lines are outside,
we have the hexagram
- I, PROVIDING NOURISHMENT (27), or
- Chung Fu, INNER TRUTH (61);
neither represents an exceptional state.
When
- strong elements within preponderate,
- they necessarily enforce their will.
This creates struggle and exceptional conditions in general.
But
in the present hexagram
it is the weak element that perforce must mediate with the outside world.
If
- a man occupies a position of authority for which
- he is by nature really inadequate,
extraordinary prudence is necessary.
THE JUDGMENT
PREPONDERANCE OF THE SMALL.
Success.
Perseverance furthers.
- Small things may be done;
- great things should not be done.
The flying bird brings the message:
- It is not well to strive upward,
- It is well to remain below.
Great good fortune.
- Exceptional modesty and
- conscientiousness
are sure to be rewarded with success;
however,
if a man is not to throw himself away,
it is important that they should
- not become empty form and subservience
- but be combined always with a correct dignity in personal behavior.
We must understand the demands of the time
in order to find the necessary offset for its
- deficiencies and
- damages.
In any event
- we must not count on great success,
- since the requisite strength is lacking.
In this lies the importance of the message that
one should
- not strive after lofty things
but
- hold to lowly things.
The structure of the hexagram gives rise to the idea that
this message is brought by a bird.
In Ta Kuo, PREPONDERANCE OF THE GREAT (28),
- the four strong, heavy lines within,
- supported only by two weak lines without,
give the image of a sagging ridgepole.
Here
-
the supporting weak lines are both
- outside and
- preponderant;
- outside and
this gives the image of a soaring bird.
But
- a bird should not try to surpass itself and fly into the sun;
- it should descend to the earth, where its nest is.
In this way
- it gives the message conveyed by the hexagram.
THE IMAGE
Thunder on the mountain: The image of PREPONDERANCE OF THE SMALL.
Thus
- in his conduct the superior man gives preponderance to reverence.
- In bereavement be gives preponderance to grief.
- In his expenditures he gives preponderance to thrift.
- Thunder on the mountain is different from
- thunder on the plain.
In the mountains,
- thunder seems much nearer;
outside the mountains,
- it is less audible than the thunder of an ordinary storm.
Thus
the superior man derives an imperative from this image:
he must always fix his eyes
- more closely and
- more directly
on duty
than does the ordinary man,
even though this might make his behavior seem petty to the outside world.
He is exceptionally conscientious in his actions.
In bereavement
- emotion means more to him than ceremoniousness.
In all his personal expenditures
- he is extremely simple and unpretentious.
In comparison with the man of the masses,
- all this makes him stand out as exceptional.
But
the essential significance of his attitude lies in the fact that
in external matters
- he is on the side of the lowly.
THE LINES
Six at the beginning means:
The bird meets with misfortune through flying.
- A bird ought to remain in the nest until
- it is fledged.
If
- it tries to fly before this,
- it invites misfortune.
Extraordinary measures should be resorted to only
when all else fails.
At first
- we ought to put up with traditional ways as long as possible;
otherwise
-
we
- exhaust ourselves and our energy and
- still achieve nothing.
- exhaust ourselves and our energy and
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.
Two exceptional situations are instanced here.
- In the temple of ancestors,
where alternation of generations prevails,
the grandson
- stands on the same side as the grandfather.
Hence
- his closest relations are with the grandfather.
The present line designates
the grandson’s wife,
who during the sacrifice
- passes by the ancestor and
- goes toward the ancestress.
This unusual behavior is, however,
- an expression of her modesty.
- She ventures rather to approach the ancestress, for
- she feels related to her by their common sex.
Hence here
- deviation from the rule is not a mistake.
-
Another image is that of
the official who, in compliance with regulation,
first seeks an audience with his prince.
If
- he is not successful in this,
- he
- does not try to force anything
but
- goes about conscientious fulfillment of his duty,
- taking his place among the other officials.
This extraordinary restraint is likewise not a mistake in exceptional times.
(The rule is that every official should first have an audience
with the prince by whom he is appointed.
Here the appointment is made by the minister.)
Nine in the third place means:
If one is not extremely careful,
Somebody may
- come up from behind and
- strike him.
Misfortune.
At certain times
extraordinary caution is absolutely necessary.
But
it is just in such life situations that we find
-
upright and strong personalities who, conscious of being in the right,
disdain to hold themselves on guard,
because
- they consider it petty.
Instead,
-
they go their way
- proud and
- unconcerned.
- proud and
But this self-confidence deludes them.
There are dangers lurking for which
- they are unprepared.
Yet such danger is not unavoidable;
one can escape it
if
- he understands that the time demands that
- he pay especial attention to small and insignificant things.
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.
Hardness of character is tempered by yielding position (1),
so that no mistakes are made.
The situation here calls for extreme caution;
- one must make no attempt of one’s own initiative to reach the desired end.
And if
- one were to go on, endeavoring to force his way to the goal,
- he would be endangered.
Therefore
-
one must
- be on guard and
- not act but continue inwardly to persevere.
- be on guard and
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.
As a high place is pictured here,
the image
-
of a flying bird
has become that
- of flying clouds.
But
dense as the clouds are,
they
- race across the sky and
- give no rain.
Similarly, in exceptional times there may be
a born ruler
- who is qualified to set the world in order,
but
-
who cannot
- achieve anything or
- confer blessing on the people
- achieve anything or
because
he
- stands alone and
- has no helpers.
In such times
- a man must seek out helpers with whose aid
- he can carry out the task.
But
- these helpers must be modestly sought out in the retirement to which
- they have withdrawn.
It is
- not their fame
- nor their great names
- but their genuine achievements
that are important.
Through such modesty
- the right man is found, and
- the exceptional task is carried out in spite of all difficulties.
Six at the top means:
He passes him by, not meeting him.
The flying bird leaves him.
Misfortune.
This means bad luck and injury.
If
- one overshoots the goal,
- one cannot hit it.
If
- a bird will not come to its nest but flies higher and higher,
- it eventually falls into the hunter’s net.
He who in times of extraordinary salience of small things
- does not know how to call a halt,
but
- restlessly seeks to press on and on,
draws upon himself misfortune at the hands of gods and men,
because
he
- deviates from the order of nature.
(1) ]See PP. 360 f.]
