Hexagram 25 无妄 changing to hexagram 26 大畜
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 2, 3, 4, 5.
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 26 大畜, line 1
有厲利已。
The first line, undivided, shows its subject in a position of peril. It will be advantageous for him to stop his advance.
Hexagram 26 大畜, line 6
何天之衢，亨。
The sixth line, undivided, shows its subject (as) in command of the firmament of heaven. There will be progress.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 25 无妄 — judgment
元亨。利貞。其匪正有眚，不利有攸往。
Wû Wang indicates great progress and success, while there will be advantage in being firm and correct. If (its subject and his action) be not correct, he will fall into errors, and it will not be advantageous for him to move in any direction.
Hexagram 26 大畜 — judgment
利貞，不家食吉，利涉大川。
Under the conditions of Tâ Khû it will be advantageous to be firm and correct. (If its subject do not seek to) enjoy his revenues in his own family (without taking service at court), there will be good fortune. It will be advantageous for him to cross the great stream.
The changing lines of hexagram 25
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 不耕穫，不菑畬，則利有攸往。 | The second line, divided, shows one who reaps without having ploughed (that he might reap), and gathers the produce of his third year's fields without having cultivated them the first year for that end. To such a one there will be advantage in whatever direction he may move. |
| 3 | 无妄之災，或繫之牛，行人之得，邑人之災。 | The third line, divided, shows calamity happening to one who is free from insincerity;—as in the case of an ox that has been tied up. A passer by finds it (and carries it off), while the people in the neighbourhood have the calamity (of being accused and apprehended). |
| 4 | 可貞，无咎。 | The fourth line, undivided, shows (a case) in which, if its subject can remain firm and correct, there will be no error. |
| 5 | 无妄之疾，勿藥有喜。 | The fifth line, undivided, shows one who is free from insincerity, and yet has fallen ill. Let him not use medicine, and he will have occasion for joy (in his recovery). |
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.