Hexagram 29 坎 changing to hexagram 51 震
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 1, 2, 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 51 震, line 3
震蘇蘇，震行无眚。
The third line, divided, shows its subject distraught amid the startling movements going on. If those movements excite him to (right) action, there will be no mistake.
Hexagram 51 震, line 6
震索索，視矍矍，征凶。震不于其躬，于其鄰，无咎。婚媾有言。
The topmost line, divided, shows its subject, amidst the startling movements (of the time), in breathless dismay and looking round him with trembling apprehension. If he take action, there will be evil. If, while the startling movements have not reached his own person and his neighbourhood, (he were to take precautions), there would be no error, though his relatives might (still) speak against him.
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 51 震 — judgment
亨。震來虩虩，笑言啞啞。震驚百里，不喪匕鬯。
A"an gives the intimation of ease Kăn development. When (the time of) movement (which it indicates) comes, (the subject of the hexagram) will be found looking out with apprehension, and yet smiling and talking cheerfully. When the movement (like a crash of thunder) terrifies all within a hundred li, he will be (like the sincere worshipper) who is not (startled into) letting go his ladle and (cup of) sacrificial spirits.
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. |
| 2 | 坎有險，求小得。 | The second line, undivided, shows its subject in all the peril of the defile. He will, however, get a little (of the deliverance) that he seeks. |
| 4 | 尊酒簋，貳用缶。内約自牖，終无咎。 | The fourth line, divided, shows its subject (at a feast), with (simply) a bottle of spirits, and a subsidiary basket of rice, while (the cups and bowls) are (only) of earthenware. He introduces his important lessons (as his ruler's) intelligence admits. There will in the end be no error. |
| 5 | 坎不盈，禔既平，无咎。 | The fifth line, undivided, shows the water of the defile not yet full, (so that it might flow away); but order will (soon) be brought about. 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.