Hexagram 9 小畜 changing to hexagram 47 困
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 1, 3, 4, 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 47 困, line 2
困于酒食，朱紱方來，利用亨祀，征凶，无咎。
The second line, undivided, shows its subject straitened amidst his wine and viands. There come to him anon the red knee-covers (of the ruler). It will be well for him (to maintain his sincerity as) in sacrificing. Active operations (on his part) will lead to evil, but he will be free from blame.
Hexagram 47 困, line 5
劓刖，困于赤紱，乃徐有說，利用祭祀。
The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject with his nose and feet cut off. He is straitened by (his ministers in their) scarlet aprons. He is leisurely in his movements, however, and is satisfied. It will be well for him to be (as sincere) as in sacrificing (to spiritual beings).
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 47 困 — judgment
亨，貞大人吉，无咎，有言不信。
In (the condition denoted by) Khwăn there may (yet be) progress and success. For the firm and correct, the (really) great man, there will be good fortune. He will fall into no error. If he make speeches, his words cannot be made good.
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. |
| 3 | 車說輹，夫妻反目。 | The third line, undivided, suggests the idea of a carriage, the strap beneath which has been removed, or of a husband and wife looking on each other with averted eyes. |
| 4 | 有孚，血去惕出，无咎。 | The fourth line, divided, shows its subject possessed of sincerity. The danger of bloodshed is thereby averted, and his (ground for) apprehension dismissed. There will be no mistake. |
| 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.