I CHING

62

Hsiao Kuo / Preponderance of the Small

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,

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; 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 PREPONDERANCE OF THE SMALL means a time in which force is

scarce and it is only possible to aspire to small achievements. For that

reason, when there is not place for big works, one should carry out the

small ones.

The flying bird symbolizes the risk of overdoing, as a bird that flies too

high and loses its nest. To fly below means to be humble and not

ambitious. It is a warning not to overdoing, not to going too far.

The good fortune is the result of being focused on small achievements.

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 he 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.

To preponderate the reverence in the behavior means to accept and

respect the social norms, to the utmost grade.

To preponderate the grief and to be thrifty in expenditures means to

accept one's condition of inferiority, without false pretensions.

This is a time for humbleness, prudence and consciousness. This isn't a

time for shinning or issuing commands.

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.

Here reference is made to the blows produced by inexperience. A small

bird that flies by and suffers misfortune symbolizes this. Misfortune

takes place when one is trying to carry out something before time, that is

to say, what is made without sustenance will fall by itself.

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 her 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.)

The lines of this hexagram symbolize the family members. The second

yin is the wife of third yang (the father) and the fifth yin is the wife of forth

yang (the grandfather). Thus, this line corresponds to fifth line, the

grandmother.

To go towards the ancestries means to already fulfill the established

rules, to follow the hierarchies. To meet the ancestries instead of

meeting the ancestor or to meet the minister instead of meeting the

prince means that one takes exceptional care when approaching

authority, not demanding so much. This also means to follow the line of

minor resistance.

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. 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.

Here reference is made to the negligence that can cause unexpected

attacks, with the result that if somebody were not cautious enough it

would be suddenly hit. That means to be attacked and betrayed

because of excessive trust or credulity, hence misfortune will come. To

be struck from the back means that there is a very vulnerable aspect

which one ignores. This means also to underestimate the enemy, to

allow the enemy to advance without trying to stop it.

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 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 one must be on guard and not act

but continue inwardly to persevere.

This is a warning to be quiet and restrained. To be on guard means to

wait and see.

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 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.

Clouds but no rain means a partial result that it has been achieved. The

small thing has already made enough, but it can't cause rain. Therefore,

the moment of going in search of a new way has come.

The prince shooting who is in the cave means to learn an uncanny

factor, which is hidden in a cave. The text doesn't mention fortune nor

blame, but to hit the cave dweller is a success in itself.

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.

He passes him by, without meeting anybody refers to the fact of not

respecting the stages concerning an undertaken activity, with the result

that somebody passes without stopping. This means that as well as

steps are skipped, the objective will be skipped without being noticed.

The bird leaving means that it overreaches the objective. All previous

steps will be in vain if the final objective is missed, thus misfortune is

coming.