Hexagram 28 大過 changing to hexagram 20 觀
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 20 觀, line 1
童觀，小人无咎，君子吝。
The first line, divided, shows the looking of a lad;—not blamable in men of inferior rank, but matter for regret in superior men.
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.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 28 大過 — judgment
棟橈，利有攸往，亨。
Tâ Kwo suggests to us a beam that is weak. There will be advantage in moving (under its conditions) in any direction whatever; there will be success.
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).
The changing lines of hexagram 28
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 枯楊生稊，老夫得其女妻，无不利。 | The second line, undivided, shows a decayed willow producing shoots, or an old husband in possession of his young wife. There will be advantage in every way. |
| 3 | 棟橈，凶。 | The third line, undivided, shows a beam that is weak. There will be evil. |
| 4 | 棟隆，吉。有它吝。 | The fourth line, undivided, shows a beam curving upwards. There will be good fortune. If (the subject of it) looks for other (help but that of line one), there will be cause for regret. |
| 6 | 過涉滅頂，凶，无咎。 | The topmost line, divided, shows its subject with extraordinary (boldness) wading through a stream, till the water hides the crown of his head. There will be evil, but no ground for blame. |
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.