King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Hexagram 36 明夷 changing to hexagram 15 謙

míng yí
→
qiān

Changing line (counted from the bottom): 1.

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 36 明夷, line 1

明夷于飛,垂其翼。君子于行,三日不食,有攸往,主人有言。

The first line, undivided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming I, flying, but with drooping wings. When the superior man (is revolving) his going away, he may be for three days without eating. Wherever he goes, the people there may speak (derisively of him).

The two hexagrams

Hexagram 36 明夷 — judgment

利艱貞。

Ming Î indicates that (in the circumstances which it denotes) it will be advantageous to realise the difficulty (of the position), and maintain firm correctness.

Hexagram 15 謙 — judgment

亨,君子有終。

Khien indicates progress and success. The superior man, (being humble as it implies), will have a (good) issue (to his undertakings).

The changing lines of hexagram 36

LineChineseLegge
1明夷于飛,垂其翼。君子于行,三日不食,有攸往,主人有言。The first line, undivided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming I, flying, but with drooping wings. When the superior man (is revolving) his going away, he may be for three days without eating. Wherever he goes, the people there may speak (derisively of him).

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.