Hexagram 38 睽 changing to hexagram 20 觀
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 1, 2, 4, 5.
What to read
Four changing lines: read the two unchanged lines of the resulting hexagram; the lower one is the main one. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)
Hexagram 20 觀, line 3
觀我生，進退。
The third line, divided, shows one looking at (the course of) his own life, to advance or recede (accordingly).
Hexagram 20 觀, line 6
觀其生，君子无咎。
The sixth line, undivided, shows its subject contemplating his character to see if it be indeed that of a superior man. He will not fall into error.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 38 睽 — judgment
小事吉。
Khwei indicates that, (notwithstanding the condition of things which it denotes), in small matters there will (still) be good success.
Hexagram 20 觀 — judgment
盥而不薦，有孚顒若。
Kwân shows (how he whom it represents should be like) the worshipper who has washed his hands, but not (yet) presented his offerings;—with sincerity and an appearance of dignity (commanding reverent regard).
The changing lines of hexagram 38
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 悔亡，喪馬勿逐，自復；見惡人无咎。 | The first line, undivided, shows that (to its subject) occasion for repentance will disappear. He has lost his horses, but let him not seek for them;—they will return of themselves. Should he meet with bad men, he will not err (in communicating with them). |
| 2 | 遇主于巷，无咎。 | The second line, undivided, shows its subject happening to meet with his lord in a bye-passage. There will be no error. |
| 4 | 睽孤，遇元夫，交孚，厲无咎。 | The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject solitary amidst the (prevailing) disunion. (But) he meets with the good man (represented by the first line), and they blend their sincere desires together. The position is one of peril, but there will be no mistake. |
| 5 | 悔亡，厥宗噬膚，往何咎。 | The fifth line, divided, shows that (to its subject) occasion for repentance will disappear. With his relative (and minister he unites closely and readily) as if he were biting through a piece of skin. When he goes forward (with this help), what error can there be? |
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.