28. Preponderance of the Great

Judgment

大过：栋桡，利有攸往，亨。

The ridgepole sags to breaking point. It furthers one to have somewhere to go: success. Structural overload demands extraordinary action.

Image

泽灭木，大过；君子以独立不惧，遯世无闷。

The lake rises above the trees: the image of preponderance of the great. The noble person, when standing alone, is unconcerned; when withdrawing from the world, undaunted.

Lines

1. Line 1, yin (six)

   初六：藉用白茅，无咎。

   To spread white rushes underneath: no blame. In extraordinary times, extreme care is a virtue.

2. Line 2, yang (nine)

   九二：枯杨生稊，老夫得其女妻，无不利。

   A dry poplar sprouts at the root; an older man takes a young wife. Everything furthers. Inject new blood into an ageing system.

3. Line 3, yang (nine)

   九三：栋桡，凶。

   The ridgepole sags to breaking point: misfortune. Single-point load and stubbornness break the structure.

4. Line 4, yang (nine)

   九四：栋隆，吉；有它吝。

   The ridgepole is braced: good fortune. If there are ulterior motives, humiliation. Reinforce the core; stay focused.

5. Line 5, yang (nine)

   九五：枯杨生华，老妇得其士夫，无咎无誉。

   A withered poplar puts forth flowers; an older woman takes a husband: no blame, no praise. Renewal without roots does not last.

6. Line 6, yin (six)

   上六：过涉灭顶，凶，无咎。

   One must go through the water; it goes over one's head: misfortune, no blame. Taking great risk for what is right—honourable even in failure.

In the enterprise

The hexagram of overload, structural risk and extraordinary times: excessive leverage, key-person dependency, over-expansion, crises requiring exceptional measures. Diagnosis: weak at both ends, heavy in the middle—an unsustainable structure.

Psychological lens

Resonates with the overload zone of the stress–performance curve and burnout; 'standing alone, unconcerned' is psychological independence under social pressure (the reverse of the Asch experiments).

Related hexagrams

Situations in the library that use this hexagram

• Growth faster than the organisation can bear Enterprise, Line 3, yang (nine)
• When to bring in outside executives Enterprise, Line 2, yang (nine)
• Single-supplier dependency Enterprise, Line 3, yang (nine)
• An excessive debt burden Enterprise, Judgment
• Key-person risk Enterprise, Line 4, yang (nine)
• A hard ethical choice Enterprise, Line 6, yin (six)
• The capacity to be alone Individuals, Judgment
• Overtime as the norm Individuals, Line 3, yang (nine)
• Mortgage pressure Individuals, Judgment
• Age and exercise Individuals, Line 2, yang (nine)
• Starting a 'second life' Individuals, Line 5, yang (nine)
• Learning in later life Individuals, Line 2, yang (nine)

Situation readings are a reflective framework for discussion—not predictions and not a substitute for professional advice.