Hexagram 53 漸 changing to hexagram 27 頤
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 1, 3, 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 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 27 頤
貞吉。觀頤，自求口實。
Î indicates that with firm correctness there will be good fortune (in what is denoted by it). We must look at what we are seeking to nourish, and by the exercise of our thoughts seek for the proper aliment.
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 27 頤 — judgment
貞吉。觀頤，自求口實。
Î indicates that with firm correctness there will be good fortune (in what is denoted by it). We must look at what we are seeking to nourish, and by the exercise of our thoughts seek for the proper aliment.
The changing lines of hexagram 53
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 鴻漸于干，小子厲，有言，无咎。 | The first line, divided, shows the wild geese gradually approaching the shore. A young officer (in similar circumstances) will be in a position of danger, and be spoken against; but there will be no error. |
| 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. |
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.