King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Hexagram 53 漸 changing to hexagram 2 坤

jiàn
→
kūn

Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 3, 5, 6.

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 53 漸

女歸吉,利貞。

Kien suggests to us the marriage of a young lady, and the good fortune (attending it). There will be advantage in being firm and correct.

Judgment of hexagram 2 坤

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 two hexagrams

Hexagram 53 漸 — judgment

女歸吉,利貞。

Kien suggests to us the marriage of a young lady, and the good fortune (attending it). There will be advantage in being firm and correct.

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 53

LineChineseLegge
3鴻漸于陸,夫征不復,婦孕不育,凶;利禦寇。The third line, undivided, shows them gradually advanced to the dry plains. (It suggests also the idea of) a husband who goes on an expedition from which he does not return, and of a wife who is pregnant, but will not nourish her child. There will be evil. (The case symbolised) might be advantageous in resisting plunderers.
5鴻漸于陵,婦三歲不孕,終莫之勝,吉。The fifth line, undivided, shows the geese gradually advanced to the high mound. (It suggests the idea of) a wife who for three years does not become pregnant; but in the end the natural issue cannot be prevented. There will be good fortune.
6鴻漸于陸,其羽可用為儀,吉。The sixth line, undivided, shows the geese gradually advanced to the large heights (beyond). Their feathers can be used as ornaments. 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.