Hexagram 37 家人 changing to hexagram 54 歸妹
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
What to read
Five changing lines: read the one unchanged line of the resulting hexagram. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)
Hexagram 54 歸妹, line 1
歸妹以娣,跛能履,征吉。
The first line, undivided, shows the younger sister married off in a position ancillary to the real wife. (It suggests the idea of) a person lame on one leg who yet manages to tramp along. Going forward will be fortunate.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 37 家人 — judgment
利女貞。
For (the realisation of what is taught in) Kiâ Zăn, (or for the regulation of the family), what is most advantageous is that the wife 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 37
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 无攸遂,在中饋,貞吉。 | The second line, divided, shows its subject taking nothing on herself, but in her central place attending to the preparation of the food. Through her firm correctness there will be good fortune. |
| 3 | 家人嗃嗃,悔厲吉;婦子嘻嘻,終吝。 | The third line, undivided, shows its subject (treating) the members of the household with stern severity. There will be occasion for repentance, there will be peril, (but) there will (also) be good fortune. If the wife and children were to be smirking and chattering, in the end there would be occasion for regret. |
| 4 | 富家,大吉。 | The fourth line, divided, shows its subject enriching the family. There will be great good fortune. |
| 5 | 王假有家,勿恤。吉。 | The fifth line, undivided, shows the influence of the king extending to his family. There need be no anxiety; there will be good fortune. |
| 6 | 有孚威如,終吉。 | The topmost line, undivided, shows its subject possessed of sincerity and arrayed in majesty. In the end there will be good fortune. |
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.