Hexagram 11 泰 changing to hexagram 21 噬嗑
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 2, 3, 4, 6.
What to read
Four changing lines: read the two unchanged lines of the resulting hexagram; the lower one is the main one. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)
Hexagram 21 噬嗑, line 1
屨校滅趾，无咎。
The first line, undivided, shows one with his feet in the stocks and deprived of his toes. There will be no error.
Hexagram 21 噬嗑, line 5
噬乾肉，得黃金，貞厲，无咎。
The fifth line, divided, shows one gnawing at dried flesh, and finding the yellow gold. Let him be firm and correct, realising the peril (of his position). There will be no error.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 11 泰 — judgment
小往大來，吉亨。
In Thâi (we see) the little gone and the great come. (It indicates that) there will be good fortune, with progress and success.
Hexagram 21 噬嗑 — judgment
亨。利用獄。
Shih Ho indicates successful progress (in the condition of things which it supposes). It will be advantageous to use legal constraints.
The changing lines of hexagram 11
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 包荒。用馮河，不遐遺；朋亡。得尚于中行。 | The second line, undivided, shows one who can bear with the uncultivated, will cross the Ho without a boat, does not forget the distant, and has no (selfish) friendships. Thus does he prove himself acting in accordance with the course of the due Mean. |
| 3 | 无平不陂，无往不復，艱貞无咎。勿恤其孚，于食有福。 | The third line, undivided, shows that, while there is no state of peace that is not liable to be disturbed, and no departure (of evil men) so that they shall not return, yet when one is firm and correct, as he realises the distresses that may arise, he will commit no error. There is no occasion for sadness at the certainty (of such recurring changes); and in this mood the happiness (of the present) may be (long) enjoyed. |
| 4 | 翩翩，不富以其鄰；不戒以孚。 | The fourth line, divided, shows its subject fluttering (down);—not relying on his own rich resources, but calling in his neighbours. (They all come) not as having received warning, but in the sincerity (of their hearts). |
| 6 | 城復于隍，勿用師，自邑告命，貞吝。 | The sixth line, divided, shows us the city wall returned into the moat. It is not the time to use the army. (The subject of the line) may, indeed, announce his orders to the people of his own city; but however correct and firm he may be, he will have cause for regret. |
English: James Legge (1882), public domain. Chinese: Zhou Yi.
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0); Chinese Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.