Hexagram 54 歸妹 changing to hexagram 7 師
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 1, 4.
What to read
Two changing lines: read both line texts of the original hexagram; the upper one is the main one. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)
Hexagram 54 歸妹, line 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.
Hexagram 54 歸妹, line 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.
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 7 師 — judgment
貞丈人吉，无咎。
Sze indicates how, in the case which it supposes, with firmness and correctness, and (a leader of) age and experience, there will be good fortune and no error.
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. |
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.