Hexagram 8 比 changing to hexagram 20 觀
Changing line (counted from the bottom): 6.
What to read
One changing line: read the text of that line in the original hexagram. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)
Hexagram 8 比, line 6
比之无首，凶。
In the topmost line, divided, we see one seeking union and attachment without having taken the first step (to such an end). There will be evil.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 8 比 — judgment
吉。原筮元永貞，无咎。不寧方來，後夫凶。
Pî indicates that (under the conditions which it supposes) there is good fortune. But let (the principal party intended in it) re-examine himself, (as if) by divination, whether his virtue be great, unintermitting, and firm. If it be so, there will be no error. Those who have not rest will then come to him; and with those who are (too) late in coming it will be ill.
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 8
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 比之无首，凶。 | In the topmost line, divided, we see one seeking union and attachment without having taken the first step (to such an end). There will be evil. |
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.