Hexagram 21 噬嗑 changing to hexagram 11 泰
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 11 泰, line 1
拔茅茹以其彙，征吉。
The first line, undivided, suggests the idea of grass pulled up, and bringing with it other stalks with whose roots it is connected. Advance (on the part of its subject) will be fortunate.
Hexagram 11 泰, line 5
帝乙歸妹，以祉，元吉。
The fifth line, divided, reminds us of (king) Tî-yî's (rule about the) marriage of his younger sister. By such a course there is happiness and there will be great good fortune.
The two hexagrams
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.
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.
The changing lines of hexagram 21
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 噬膚滅鼻，无咎。 | The second line, divided, shows one biting through the soft flesh, and (going on to) bite off the nose. There will be no error. |
| 3 | 噬昔肉，遇毒；小吝，无咎。 | The third line, divided, shows one gnawing dried flesh, and meeting with what is disagreeable. There will be occasion for some small regret, but no (great) error. |
| 4 | 噬乾胏，得金矢，利艱貞，吉。 | The fourth line, undivided, shows one gnawing the flesh dried on the bone, and getting the pledges of money and arrows. It will be advantageous to him to realise the difficulty of his task and be firm,—in which case there will be good fortune. |
| 6 | 何校滅耳，凶。 | The sixth line, undivided, shows one wearing the cangue, and deprived of his ears. There will be evil. |
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.