Hexagram 29 坎 changing to hexagram 5 需
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 1, 3.
What to read
Two changing lines: read both line texts of the original hexagram; the upper one is the main one. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)
Hexagram 29 坎, line 3
來之坎坎，險且枕，入于坎窞，勿用。
The third line, divided, shows its subject, whether he comes or goes (=descends or ascends), confronted by a defile. All is peril to him and unrest. (His endeavours) will lead him into the cavern of the pit. There should be no action (in such a case).
Hexagram 29 坎, line 1
習坎，入于坎窞，凶。
The first line, divided, shows its subject in the double defile, and (yet) entering a cavern within it. There will be evil.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 29 坎 — judgment
習坎：有孚，維心亨。行有尚。
Khan, here repeated, shows the possession of sincerity, through which the mind is. penetrating. Action (in accordance with this) will be of high value.
Hexagram 5 需 — judgment
有孚，光亨。貞吉，利涉大川。
Hsü intimates that, with the sincerity which is declared in it, there will be brilliant success. With firmness there will be good fortune; and it will be advantageous to cross the great stream.
The changing lines of hexagram 29
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 習坎，入于坎窞，凶。 | The first line, divided, shows its subject in the double defile, and (yet) entering a cavern within it. There will be evil. |
| 3 | 來之坎坎，險且枕，入于坎窞，勿用。 | The third line, divided, shows its subject, whether he comes or goes (=descends or ascends), confronted by a defile. All is peril to him and unrest. (His endeavours) will lead him into the cavern of the pit. There should be no action (in such a case). |
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.