Line 4 of
Hexagram 49: 革
“Skinning” — King Wen #49 · 九四
Line 4 九四
悔亡，有孚改命，吉。
The fourth NINE, undivided, shows occasion for repentance disappearing (from its subject). Let him be believed in; and though he change (existing) ordinances, there will be good fortune.
— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1882 (public domain)
The Changed Hexagram 之卦
Line 4 changing turns hexagram 49 into䷾ Hexagram 63: 既濟 — “Already Fording”Read line 4 of hexagram 63 →Reading This Line
In the received Zhouyi text, line 4 of hexagram 49 is a strong (yang) line occupying the fourth line, risen into the upper trigram. The classical line statement — 悔亡，有孚改命，吉。 — 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 49 Line 4
What does line 4 of hexagram 49 say?
The received text reads: 悔亡，有孚改命，吉。 In James Legge's 1882 translation: “The fourth NINE, undivided, shows occasion for repentance disappearing (from its subject). Let him be believed in; and though he change (existing) ordinances, there will be good fortune.”
Which hexagram does line 4 change hexagram 49 into?
Changing only line 4 of hexagram 49 (革, “Skinning”) gives hexagram 63 — 既濟 (jì jì, “Already Fording”). 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.