Hexagram 5 需 changing to hexagram 54 歸妹
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 3, 4, 5.
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 5 需
有孚，光亨。貞吉，利涉大川。
Hsü intimates that, with the sincerity which is declared in it, there will be brilliant success. With firmness there will be good fortune; and it will be advantageous to cross the great stream.
Judgment of hexagram 54 歸妹
征凶，无攸利。
Kwei Mei indicates that (under the conditions which it denotes) action will be evil, and in no wise advantageous.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 5 需 — judgment
有孚，光亨。貞吉，利涉大川。
Hsü intimates that, with the sincerity which is declared in it, there will be brilliant success. With firmness there will be good fortune; and it will be advantageous to cross the great stream.
Hexagram 54 歸妹 — judgment
征凶，无攸利。
Kwei Mei indicates that (under the conditions which it denotes) action will be evil, and in no wise advantageous.
The changing lines of hexagram 5
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 需于泥，致寇至。 | The third line, undivided, shows its subject in the mud (close by the stream). He thereby invites the approach of injury. |
| 4 | 需于血，出自穴。 | The fourth line, divided, shows its subject waiting in (the place of) blood. But he will get out of the cavern. |
| 5 | 需于酒食，貞吉。 | The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject waiting amidst the appliances of a feast. Through his firmness and correctness there will be good fortune. |
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.