Hexagram 54 歸妹 changing to hexagram 20 觀
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 1, 2, 4, 5, 6.
What to read
Five changing lines: read the one unchanged line of the resulting hexagram. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)
Hexagram 20 觀, line 3
觀我生，進退。
The third line, divided, shows one looking at (the course of) his own life, to advance or recede (accordingly).
The two hexagrams
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.
Hexagram 20 觀 — judgment
盥而不薦，有孚顒若。
Kwân shows (how he whom it represents should be like) the worshipper who has washed his hands, but not (yet) presented his offerings;—with sincerity and an appearance of dignity (commanding reverent regard).
The changing lines of hexagram 54
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 歸妹以娣，跛能履，征吉。 | The first line, undivided, shows the younger sister married off in a position ancillary to the real wife. (It suggests the idea of) a person lame on one leg who yet manages to tramp along. Going forward will be fortunate. |
| 2 | 眇能視，利幽人之貞。 | The second line, undivided, shows her blind of one eye, and yet able to see. There will be advantage in her maintaining the firm correctness of a solitary widow. |
| 4 | 歸妹愆期，遲歸有時。 | The fourth line, undivided, shows the younger sister who is to be married off protracting the time. She may be late in being married, but the time will come. |
| 5 | 帝乙歸妹，其君之袂，不如其娣之袂良，月幾望，吉。 | The fifth line, divided, reminds us of the marrying of the younger sister of (king) Ti-yi, when the sleeves of her the princess were not equal to those of the (still) younger sister who accompanied her in an inferior capacity. (The case suggests the thought of) the moon almost full. There will be good fortune. |
| 6 | 女承筐无實，士刲羊无血，无攸利。 | The sixth line, divided, shows the young lady bearing the basket, but without anything in it, and the gentleman slaughtering the sheep, but without blood flowing from it. There will be no advantage in any way. |
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.