Hexagram 54 歸妹 changing to hexagram 59 渙
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 1, 4, 5, 6.
What to read
Four changing lines: read the two unchanged lines of the resulting hexagram; the lower one is the main one. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)
Hexagram 59 渙, line 2
渙奔其机,悔亡。
The second line, undivided, shows its subject, amid the dispersion, hurrying to his contrivance (for security). All occasion for repentance will disappear.
Hexagram 59 渙, line 3
渙其躬,无悔。
The third line, divided, shows its subject discarding any regard to his own person. There will be no occasion for repentance.
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 59 渙 — judgment
亨,王假有廟,利涉大川,利貞。
Hwân intimates that (under its conditions) there will be progress and success. The king goes to his ancestral temple; and it will be advantageous to cross the great stream. It will be advantageous to be firm and correct.
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. |
| 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.