Hexagram 9 小畜 changing to hexagram 15 謙
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 1, 2, 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 15 謙, line 3
勞謙君子，有終吉。
The third line, undivided, shows the superior man of (acknowledged) merit. He will maintain his success to the end, and have good fortune.
Hexagram 15 謙, line 4
无不利，撝謙。
The fourth line, divided, shows one, whose action would be in every way advantageous, stirring up (the more) his humility.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 9 小畜 — judgment
亨。密雲不雨，自我西郊。
Hsiâo Khû indicates that (under its conditions) there will be progress and success. (We see) dense clouds, but no rain coming from our borders in the west.
Hexagram 15 謙 — judgment
亨，君子有終。
Khien indicates progress and success. The superior man, (being humble as it implies), will have a (good) issue (to his undertakings).
The changing lines of hexagram 9
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 復自道，何其咎，吉。 | The first line, undivided, shows its subject returning and pursuing his own course. What mistake should he fall into? There will be good fortune. |
| 2 | 牽復，吉。 | The second line, undivided, shows its subject, by the attraction (of the former line), returning (to the proper course). There will be good fortune. |
| 5 | 有孚攣如，富以其鄰。 | The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject possessed of sincerity, and drawing others to unite with him. Rich in resources, he employs his neighbours (in the same cause with himself). |
| 6 | 既雨既處，尚得載，婦貞厲，月幾望，君子征凶。 | The topmost line, undivided, shows how the rain has fallen, and the (onward progress) is stayed;—(so) must we value the full accumulation of the virtue (represented by the upper trigram). But a wife (exercising restraint), however firm and correct she may be, is in a position of peril, (and like) the moon approaching to the full. If the superior man prosecute his measures (in such circumstances), 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.