Hexagram 20 觀 changing to hexagram 4 蒙
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 2, 5.
What to read
Two changing lines: read both line texts of the original hexagram; the upper one is the main one. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)
Hexagram 20 觀, line 5
觀我生，君子无咎。
The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject contemplating his own life(-course). A superior man, he will (thus) fall into no error.
Hexagram 20 觀, line 2
窺觀，利女貞。
The second line, divided, shows one peeping out from a door. It would be advantageous if it were (merely) the firm correctness of a female.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 20 觀 — judgment
盥而不薦，有孚顒若。
Kwân shows (how he whom it represents should be like) the worshipper who has washed his hands, but not (yet) presented his offerings;—with sincerity and an appearance of dignity (commanding reverent regard).
Hexagram 4 蒙 — judgment
亨。匪我求童蒙，童蒙求我。初筮告，再三瀆，瀆則不告。利貞。
Măng (indicates that in the case which it presupposes) there will be progress and success. I do not (go and) seek the youthful and inexperienced, but he comes and seeks me. When he shows (the sincerity that marks) the first recourse to divination, I instruct him. If he apply a second and third time, that is troublesome; and I do not instruct the troublesome. There will be advantage in being firm and correct.
The changing lines of hexagram 20
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 窺觀，利女貞。 | The second line, divided, shows one peeping out from a door. It would be advantageous if it were (merely) the firm correctness of a female. |
| 5 | 觀我生，君子无咎。 | The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject contemplating his own life(-course). A superior man, he will (thus) fall into no error. |
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.