小過xiaoguo
Small Exceeding
See also: Wilhelm commentary for Hexagram 62
Hexagram Statement
卦辭
飛鳥遺其音，聲哀以求處，上愈无所適，下則得安。愈上則愈窮，莫若飛鳥也。
The flying bird loses its call, its cry mournful as it seeks a resting place. Ascending further, it finds nowhere to go; descending, it finds peace. The higher it goes, the more desperate it becomes—nothing illustrates this like the flying bird.
○正義曰：「小過，亨」者，小過卦名也。王於《大過》卦下注云「音相過之過」。恐人作罪過之義，故以音之。然則小過之義，亦與彼同也。過於小事，謂之小過，即「行過乎恭，喪過乎哀」之例是也。褚氏云：「謂小人之行，小有過差，君子為過厚之行以矯之也，如晏子狐裘之比也。」此因小人有過差，故君子為過厚之行，非即以過差釋卦名。《彖》曰「小過，小者過而亨」，言因過得亨，明非罪過，故王於大過音之，明雖義兼罪過得名，止*在君子為過行也。而周氏等不悟此理，兼以罪過釋卦名，失之遠矣。過為小事，道乃可通，故曰「小過，亨」也。「利貞」者，矯世勵俗，利在歸正，故曰利貞也。「可小事，不可大事」者，時也。小有過差，惟可矯以小事，不可正以大事，故曰「可小事，不可大事」也。「飛鳥遺之音，不宜上，宜下，大吉」者，借喻以明過厚之行，有吉有凶。飛鳥遺其音聲，哀以求處。過上則愈无所適，過下則不失其安，以譬君子處過差之時，為過矯*之行，順而止*之則吉，逆而忤鱗則凶，故曰：「飛鳥遺之音，不宜上，宜下，大吉」。順則執卑守下，逆則犯君陵上，故以臣之逆順，類鳥之上下也。
The Correct Meaning states: 'Smallness in Excess, Success'—Smallness in Excess is the hexagram name. ' He feared people would take it as meaning 'fault' or 'transgression,' so he clarified the pronunciation. The meaning of Smallness in Excess is the same.
' This is because petty people have errors, so the noble person practices excessively generous conduct—it is not that 'error' directly explains the hexagram name. The Tuan states 'Smallness in Excess means the small exceeds and there is Success,' meaning one attains Success through exceeding.
This clearly is not transgression, which is why Wang Bi glossed the pronunciation for Great Excess, showing that although the name can encompass both meanings, the focus* is on the noble person's practice of exceeding conduct.
Master Zhou and others did not grasp this principle and also used 'transgression' to explain the hexagram name—they missed the mark by far. ' 'Small matters are permissible, great matters are not'—this is a matter of timing.
' 'The flying bird leaves behind its call—it is not fitting to ascend, fitting to descend, great good fortune': this is a borrowed metaphor to clarify that excessively generous conduct can bring either good fortune or misfortune.
The flying bird loses its call, crying mournfully in search of a resting place. Exceeding upward leads to having nowhere to go; exceeding downward does not forfeit one's peace.
This is an analogy for the noble person dwelling in times of error, practicing excessively corrective* conduct: complying and stopping* brings good fortune; going against and offending the ruler brings misfortune.
' Compliance means holding to humility and keeping low; defiance means offending the ruler and overstepping above. Thus the obedience and defiance of the minister is likened to the descending and ascending of the bird.
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Source: eee-learning.com (易學網) · Edition: 武英殿十三經注疏