Hexagram 31 咸 changing to hexagram 5 需

xián

→

xū

Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 1, 2, 4.

What to read

Three changing lines: read the judgments of the original and the resulting hexagram; the original is the main one. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)

Judgment of hexagram 31 咸

亨。利貞。取女吉。

Hsien indicates that, (on the fulfilment of the conditions implied in it), there will be free course and success. Its advantageousness will depend on the being firm and correct, (as) in marrying a young lady. There will be good fortune.

Judgment of hexagram 5 需

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 two hexagrams

Hexagram 31 咸 — judgment

亨。利貞。取女吉。

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 31

Line	Chinese	Legge
1	咸其拇。	The first line, divided, shows one moving his great toes.
2	咸其腓，凶，居吉。	The second line, divided, shows one moving the calves of his leg. There will be evil. If he abide (quiet in his place), there will be good fortune.
4	貞吉悔亡，憧憧往來，朋從爾思。	The fourth line, undivided, shows that firm correctness which will lead to good fortune, and prevent all occasion for repentance. If its subject be unsettled in his movements, (only) his friends will follow his purpose.

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.