Hexagram 48 井 changing to hexagram 15 謙
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 2, 5.
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 48 井, line 5
井冽,寒泉食。
The fifth line, undivided, shows a clear, limpid well, (the waters from) whose cold spring are (freely) drunk.
Hexagram 48 井, line 2
井谷射鮒,瓮敝漏。
The second line, undivided, shows a well from which by a hole the water escapes and flows away to the shrimps (and such small creatures among the grass), or one the water of which leaks away from a broken basket.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 48 井 — judgment
改邑不改井,无喪无得,往來井井。汔至亦未繘井。羸其瓶,凶。
(Looking at) Zing, (we think of) how (the site of) a town may be changed, while (the fashion of) its wells undergoes no change. (The water of a well) never disappears and never receives (any great) increase, and those who come and those who go can draw and enjoy the benefit. If (the drawing) have nearly been accomplished, but, before the rope has quite reached the water, the bucket is broken, this is evil.
Hexagram 15 謙 — judgment
亨,君子有終。
Khien indicates progress and success. The superior man, (being humble as it implies), will have a (good) issue (to his undertakings).
The changing lines of hexagram 48
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 井谷射鮒,瓮敝漏。 | The second line, undivided, shows a well from which by a hole the water escapes and flows away to the shrimps (and such small creatures among the grass), or one the water of which leaks away from a broken basket. |
| 5 | 井冽,寒泉食。 | The fifth line, undivided, shows a clear, limpid well, (the waters from) whose cold spring are (freely) drunk. |
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.