Hexagram 4 蒙 changing to hexagram 21 噬嗑
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 1, 2, 4.
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 4 蒙
亨。匪我求童蒙，童蒙求我。初筮告，再三瀆，瀆則不告。利貞。
Măng (indicates that in the case which it presupposes) there will be progress and success. I do not (go and) seek the youthful and inexperienced, but he comes and seeks me. When he shows (the sincerity that marks) the first recourse to divination, I instruct him. If he apply a second and third time, that is troublesome; and I do not instruct the troublesome. There will be advantage in being firm and correct.
Judgment of hexagram 21 噬嗑
亨。利用獄。
Shih Ho indicates successful progress (in the condition of things which it supposes). It will be advantageous to use legal constraints.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 4 蒙 — judgment
亨。匪我求童蒙，童蒙求我。初筮告，再三瀆，瀆則不告。利貞。
Măng (indicates that in the case which it presupposes) there will be progress and success. I do not (go and) seek the youthful and inexperienced, but he comes and seeks me. When he shows (the sincerity that marks) the first recourse to divination, I instruct him. If he apply a second and third time, that is troublesome; and I do not instruct the troublesome. There will be advantage in being firm and correct.
Hexagram 21 噬嗑 — judgment
亨。利用獄。
Shih Ho indicates successful progress (in the condition of things which it supposes). It will be advantageous to use legal constraints.
The changing lines of hexagram 4
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 發蒙，利用刑人，用說桎梏，以往吝。 | The first line, divided, (has respect to) the dispelling of ignorance. It will be advantageous to use punishment (for that purpose), and to remove the shackles (from the mind). But going on in that way (of punishment) will give occasion for regret. |
| 2 | 包蒙吉，納婦吉，子克家。 | The second line, undivided, (shows its subject) exercising forbearance with the ignorant, in which there will be good fortune; and admitting (even the goodness of women, which will also be fortunate. (He may be described also as) a son able to (sustain the burden of) his family. |
| 4 | 困蒙，吝。 | The fourth line, divided, (shows its subject as if) bound in chains of ignorance. There will be occasion for regret. |
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.