Hexagram 21 噬嗑 changing to hexagram 57 巽
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
What to read
Five changing lines: read the one unchanged line of the resulting hexagram. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)
Hexagram 57 巽, line 6
巽在牀下，喪其資斧，貞凶。
The sixth line, undivided, shows the representative of penetration beneath a couch, and having lost the axe with which he executed his decisions. However firm and correct he may (try to) be, there will be evil.
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 57 巽 — judgment
小亨。利有攸往。利見大人。
Sun intimates that (under the conditions which it denotes) there will be some little attainment and progress. There will be advantage in movement onward in whatever direction. It will be advantageous (also) to see the great man.
The changing lines of hexagram 21
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
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.