Hexagram 34 大壯 changing to hexagram 54 歸妹
Changing line (counted from the bottom): 3.
What to read
One changing line: read the text of that line in the original hexagram. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)
Hexagram 34 大壯, line 3
小人用壯，君子用罔，貞厲。羝羊觸藩，羸其角。
The third line, undivided, shows, in the case of a small man, one using all his strength; and in the case of a superior man, one whose rule is not to do so. Even with firm correctness the position would be perilous. (The exercise of strength in it might be compared to the case of) a ram butting against a fence, and getting his horns entangled.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 34 大壯 — judgment
利貞。
Ta Kwang indicates that (under the conditions which it symbolises) it will be advantageous to be firm and correct.
Hexagram 54 歸妹 — judgment
征凶，无攸利。
Kwei Mei indicates that (under the conditions which it denotes) action will be evil, and in no wise advantageous.
The changing lines of hexagram 34
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 小人用壯，君子用罔，貞厲。羝羊觸藩，羸其角。 | The third line, undivided, shows, in the case of a small man, one using all his strength; and in the case of a superior man, one whose rule is not to do so. Even with firm correctness the position would be perilous. (The exercise of strength in it might be compared to the case of) a ram butting against a fence, and getting his horns entangled. |
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.