22 · 賁

Hexagram 22, 賁. Original Chinese judgment: 亨。小利有攸往。 Read the six line statements, commentaries and separately labeled editorial summaries.

Judgment

亨。小利有攸往。

《周易》通行本

Line texts

  1. 初九：賁其趾，舍車而徒。
  2. 六二：賁其須。
  3. 九三：賁如濡如，永貞吉。
  4. 六四：賁如皤如，白馬翰如，匪寇婚媾。
  5. 六五：賁于丘園，束帛戔戔，吝，終吉。
  6. 上九：白賁，无咎。

Tuan commentary

賁，亨；柔來而文剛，故亨。分剛上而文柔，故小利有攸往。剛柔交錯，天文也；文明以止，人文也。觀乎天文，以察時變；觀乎人文，以化成天下。

维基文库 · 周易 · 贲

Great Image commentary

山下有火，賁；君子以明庶政，无敢折獄。

Small Images · bottom to top

  1. 舍車而徒，義弗乘也。
  2. 賁其須，與上興也。
  3. 永貞之吉，終莫之陵也。
  4. 六四，當位疑也。匪寇婚媾，終无尤也。
  5. 六五之吉，有喜也。
  6. 白賁无咎，上得志也。

Traditional source · editorial summary in Chinese

Working translation of this site’s Chinese summaries based on traditional sources, not verbatim quotations from the commentator or a translation of the classical text. Native-language review is incomplete. Traditional imagery is not medical, legal or other professional advice.

朱熹《周易本義》

維基文庫 · 周易本義（四庫全書本）卷一

Judgment exegesis

Zhu Xi explains Bi, the Adornment hexagram, through firmness and yielding embellishing one another, clarity in the inner trigram and stillness in the outer trigram. Adornment supports solid substance and unhindered progress but permits only limited advance. Cultivated clarity must keep each within its fitting bounds.

Traditional source · editorial summary in Chinese · Line texts

  1. Firm clarity at the lowest first line adorns its own steps. It chooses walking over riding a carriage contrary to what is right; rightness wholly determines the choice.
  2. Yielding, centered correctness in the second line lacks proper correspondence and can only move with the third yang line above, like a beard following the jaw. Adornment cannot stand independently.
  3. The third yang line between two yin lines receives embellishment and enrichment. Do not indulge in ease; lasting correctness prevents encroachment by external things.
  4. The fourth yin line seeks correspondence with the first yang line but is blocked by the third, showing urgency to return to plain truth. The third is not an aggressor; correctness ultimately avoids reproach.
  5. Yielding strength at the center in the fifth line governs adornment, valuing roots and substance, like exchanging a small bundle of silk in a garden. Despite modesty that brings humiliation, the end is auspicious.
  6. At the extreme of adornment, the top yang line returns to plainness without color. Simplicity remedies excessive embellishment, allowing white adornment to be without blame.

Plain-language reading

Working translation of this site’s Chinese editorial reading, not an edition of the classical text, a verbatim quotation from a commentator or a prediction. Native-language review is not yet complete.

Judgment introduction

Bi, the Adornment hexagram, concerns form working with substance. Fitting adornment can bring cultured clarity and unhindered progress, but only supports the foundation. When appearance replaces substance, the proper boundary is lost.

Plain-language reading · Line texts

  1. Prefer plain walking to riding in an improper carriage: choices should put what is right first.
  2. Like a beard moving with the jaw, adornment depends on substance and cannot exist independently of its foundation.
  3. When adorned and enriched, do not sink into ease. Lasting correctness keeps outward things from changing one’s principles.
  4. Wishing to return to plain white simplicity, one is temporarily obstructed. Recognize that the other is not an aggressor; remaining correct can avoid fault.
  5. Value foundations and substance, meeting others sincerely with modest gifts. Though the form is simple and slight, the outcome is described as auspicious.
  6. At the extreme of adornment, return to simplicity. Plainness and lack of color remedy excess and can avoid blame.

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