Hexagram 51 震 changing to hexagram 21 噬嗑
Changing line (counted from the bottom): 6.
What to read
One changing line: read the text of that line in the original hexagram. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)
Hexagram 51 震, line 6
震索索，視矍矍，征凶。震不于其躬，于其鄰，无咎。婚媾有言。
The topmost line, divided, shows its subject, amidst the startling movements (of the time), in breathless dismay and looking round him with trembling apprehension. If he take action, there will be evil. If, while the startling movements have not reached his own person and his neighbourhood, (he were to take precautions), there would be no error, though his relatives might (still) speak against him.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 51 震 — judgment
亨。震來虩虩，笑言啞啞。震驚百里，不喪匕鬯。
A"an gives the intimation of ease Kăn development. When (the time of) movement (which it indicates) comes, (the subject of the hexagram) will be found looking out with apprehension, and yet smiling and talking cheerfully. When the movement (like a crash of thunder) terrifies all within a hundred li, he will be (like the sincere worshipper) who is not (startled into) letting go his ladle and (cup of) sacrificial spirits.
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 51
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 震索索，視矍矍，征凶。震不于其躬，于其鄰，无咎。婚媾有言。 | The topmost line, divided, shows its subject, amidst the startling movements (of the time), in breathless dismay and looking round him with trembling apprehension. If he take action, there will be evil. If, while the startling movements have not reached his own person and his neighbourhood, (he were to take precautions), there would be no error, though his relatives might (still) speak against him. |
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.