Hexagram 36 明夷 changing to hexagram 41 損
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 2, 3, 6.
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 36 明夷
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.
Judgment of hexagram 41 損
有孚，元吉。无咎，可貞，利有攸往。曷之用？二簋可用享。
In (what is denoted by) Sun, if there be sincerity (in him who employs it), there will be great good fortune:—freedom from error; firmness and correctness that can be maintained; and advantage in every movement that shall be made. In what shall this (sincerity in the exercise of Sun) be employed? (Even) in sacrifice two baskets of grain, (though there be nothing else), may be presented.
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 41 損 — judgment
有孚，元吉。无咎，可貞，利有攸往。曷之用？二簋可用享。
In (what is denoted by) Sun, if there be sincerity (in him who employs it), there will be great good fortune:—freedom from error; firmness and correctness that can be maintained; and advantage in every movement that shall be made. In what shall this (sincerity in the exercise of Sun) be employed? (Even) in sacrifice two baskets of grain, (though there be nothing else), may be presented.
The changing lines of hexagram 36
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 明夷，夷于左股，用拯馬壯，吉。 | The second line, divided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming I, wounded in the left thigh. He saves himself by the strength of a (swift) horse; and is fortunate. |
| 3 | 明夷于南狩，得其大首，不可疾貞。 | The third line, undivided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming I, hunting in the south, and taking the great chief (of the darkness). He should not be eager to make (all) correct (at once). |
| 6 | 不明晦，初登于天，後入于地。 | The sixth line, divided, shows the case where there is no light, but (only) obscurity. (Its subject) had at first ascended to (the top of) the sky; his future shall be to go into the earth. |
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.