Line 1 of
Hexagram 36: 明夷
“Darkening of the Light” — King Wen #36 · 初九
Line 1 初九
明夷于飛，垂其翼；君子于行，三日不食。有攸往，主人有言。
The first NINE, undivided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming Yi, flying, but with drooping wings. When the superior man (is revolving) his going away, he may be for three days without eating. Wherever he goes, the people there may speak (derisively of him).
— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1882 (public domain)
The Changed Hexagram 之卦
Line 1 changing turns hexagram 36 into䷎ Hexagram 15: 謙 — “Humbling”Read line 1 of hexagram 15 →Reading This Line
In the received Zhouyi text, line 1 of hexagram 36 is a strong (yang) line occupying the opening line, where the situation is only beginning to show its shape. The classical line statement — 明夷于飛，垂其翼；君子于行，三日不食。有攸往，主人有言。 — is what commentators from the Ten Wings onward have read as the figure's own commentary on this one position. James Legge's 1882 rendering, quoted above, keeps the imagery of the original: each line of a hexagram is read as a stage of the same picture, and this page collects the source text for that stage. If you treat the line as moving in the traditional way, flipping it alone produces the changed hexagram linked above; readers have long used that pair of figures to compare a situation as given with the same situation one line different. As always with classical divination texts, this is presented for cultural and reference interest — the text itself carries no prediction about any modern reader's situation.
Questions About Hexagram 36 Line 1
What does line 1 of hexagram 36 say?
The received text reads: 明夷于飛，垂其翼；君子于行，三日不食。有攸往，主人有言。 In James Legge's 1882 translation: “The first NINE, undivided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming Yi, flying, but with drooping wings. When the superior man (is revolving) his going away, he may be for three days without eating. Wherever he goes, the people there may speak (derisively of him).”
Which hexagram does line 1 change hexagram 36 into?
Changing only line 1 of hexagram 36 (明夷, “Darkening of the Light”) gives hexagram 15 — 謙 (qiān, “Humbling”). This is the classical way a changed hexagram is derived from moving lines.
Are line pages available for every hexagram?
Yes. Every one of the 64 hexagrams now has six line pages — one per line from the bottom line up to the top line — each with the classical Chinese text, Legge's 1882 translation, and the changed hexagram that line produces when it moves.
1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1882), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text. · For reflection and reference — not financial, medical, or life advice.