Hexagram 44 姤 changing to hexagram 21 噬嗑
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 1, 2, 3, 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 21 噬嗑, line 4
噬乾胏，得金矢，利艱貞，吉。
The fourth line, undivided, shows one gnawing the flesh dried on the bone, and getting the pledges of money and arrows. It will be advantageous to him to realise the difficulty of his task and be firm,—in which case there will be good fortune.
Hexagram 21 噬嗑, line 6
何校滅耳，凶。
The sixth line, undivided, shows one wearing the cangue, and deprived of his ears. There will be evil.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 44 姤 — judgment
女壯，勿用取女。
Kâu shows a female who is bold and strong. It will not be good to marry (such) a female.
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 44
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 系于金柅，貞吉，有攸往，見凶，羸豕，孚，蹢躅。 | The first line, divided, shows how its subject should be kept (like a carriage) tied and fastened to a metal drag, in which case with firm correctness there will be good fortune. (But) if he move in any direction, evil will appear. He will be (like) a lean pig, which is sure to keep jumping about. |
| 2 | 包有魚，无咎，不利賓。 | The second line, undivided, shows its subject with a wallet of fish. There will be no error. But it will not be well to let (the subject of the first line) go forward to the guests. |
| 3 | 臀无膚，其行次且，厲，无大咎。 | The third line, undivided, shows one from whose buttocks the skin has been stripped so that he walks with difficulty. The position is perilous, but there will be no great error. |
| 5 | 以杞包瓜，含章，有隕自天。 | The fifth line, undivided, (shows its subject as) a medlar tree overspreading the gourd (beneath it). If he keep his brilliant qualities concealed, (a good issue) will descend (as) from Heaven. |
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.