Hexagram 46 升 changing to hexagram 2 坤
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 2, 3.
What to read
Two changing lines: read both line texts of the original hexagram; the upper one is the main one. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)
Hexagram 46 升, line 3
升虛邑。
The third line, undivided, shows its subject ascending upwards (as into) an empty city.
Hexagram 46 升, line 2
孚乃利用禴，无咎。
The second line, undivided, shows its subject with that sincerity which will make even the (small) offerings of the vernal sacrifice acceptable. There will be no error.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 46 升 — judgment
元亨，用見大人，勿恤，南征吉。
Shăng indicates that (under its conditions) there will be great progress and success. Seeking by (the qualities implied in it) to meet with the great man, its subject need have no anxiety. Advance to the south will be fortunate.
Hexagram 2 坤 — judgment
元亨。利牝馬之貞。
Khwăn (represents) what is great and originating, penetrating, advantageous, correct and having the firmness of a mare. When the superior man (here intended) has to make any movement, if he take the initiative, he will go astray; if he follow, he will find his (proper) lord. The advantageousness will be seen in his getting friends in the south-west, and losing friends in the north-east. If he rest in correctness and firmness, there will be good fortune.
The changing lines of hexagram 46
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 孚乃利用禴，无咎。 | The second line, undivided, shows its subject with that sincerity which will make even the (small) offerings of the vernal sacrifice acceptable. There will be no error. |
| 3 | 升虛邑。 | The third line, undivided, shows its subject ascending upwards (as into) an empty city. |
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.