Hexagram 6 訟 changing to hexagram 54 歸妹
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 1, 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 6 訟
有孚，窒，惕，中吉，終凶。利見大人，不利涉大川。
Sung intimates how, though there is sincerity in one's contention, he will yet meet with opposition and obstruction; but if he cherish an apprehensive caution, there will be good fortune, while, if he must prosecute the contention to the (bitter) end, there will be evil. It will be advantageous to see the great man; it will not be advantageous to cross the great stream.
Judgment of hexagram 54 歸妹
征凶，无攸利。
Kwei Mei indicates that (under the conditions which it denotes) action will be evil, and in no wise advantageous.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 6 訟 — judgment
有孚，窒，惕，中吉，終凶。利見大人，不利涉大川。
Sung intimates how, though there is sincerity in one's contention, he will yet meet with opposition and obstruction; but if he cherish an apprehensive caution, there will be good fortune, while, if he must prosecute the contention to the (bitter) end, there will be evil. It will be advantageous to see the great man; it will not be advantageous to cross the great stream.
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.
The changing lines of hexagram 6
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 不永所事，小有言，終吉。 | The first line, divided, shows its subject not perpetuating the matter about which (the contention is). He will suffer the small (injury) of being spoken against, but the end will be fortunate. |
| 5 | 訟，元吉。 | The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject contending;—and with great good fortune. |
| 6 | 或錫之鞶帶，終朝三褫之。 | The topmost line, undivided, shows how its subject may have the leathern belt conferred on him (by the sovereign), and thrice it shall be taken from him in a morning. |
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.