Hexagram 28 大過 changing to hexagram 37 家人
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 1, 2, 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 37 家人, line 3
家人嗃嗃，悔厲吉；婦子嘻嘻，終吝。
The third line, undivided, shows its subject (treating) the members of the household with stern severity. There will be occasion for repentance, there will be peril, (but) there will (also) be good fortune. If the wife and children were to be smirking and chattering, in the end there would be occasion for regret.
Hexagram 37 家人, line 5
王假有家，勿恤。吉。
The fifth line, undivided, shows the influence of the king extending to his family. There need be no anxiety; there will be good fortune.
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 37 家人 — judgment
利女貞。
For (the realisation of what is taught in) Kiâ Zăn, (or for the regulation of the family), what is most advantageous is that the wife be firm and correct.
The changing lines of hexagram 28
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 藉用白茅，无咎。 | The first line, divided, shows one placing mats of the white mâo grass under things set on the ground. There will be no error. |
| 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. |
| 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.