Hexagram 22, line 1
初九Line 1 of Adornment
Nine at the beginning · 賁 bì
爻辭 The line text
賁其趾，舍車而徒。The first line, undivided, shows one adorning (the way of) his feet. He can discard a carriage and walk on foot.
舍車而徒，義弗乘也。'He can discard a carriage and walk on foot:'—- righteousness requires that he should not ride.
In plain words
Adornment begins at the feet, the lowest and least decorated part: line one 'adorns its toes, leaves the carriage and walks.' It is a strong line in a correct place at the bottom of Li, brightness, and it corresponds to the fourth line, but the small Image says the reason it walks is that 'rightness forbids it to ride' (義弗乘也) — the carriage on offer is not one it has earned. 程頤 reads this as the person of low station whose only ornament is the integrity of their conduct: grace at the beginning consists in refusing a borrowed grandeur.
If this line is changing
Decline the shortcut or the status that is offered but not earned; at this stage your conduct is your only ornament, and walking on your own feet shows it.
Where the line stands
- A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang line that moves when cast.
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 離 Li (the Clinging) (fire).
- It corresponds (應) with line 4: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
賁 Adornment becomes ䷳ 52 艮 Stillness (Mountain)
Mountain upon mountain: keeping still. Still the back so the self is not felt, walk in the courtyard without seeing the people — rest at the right time, move at the right time.
What it becomes52 · 艮 Stillness (Mountain)gènThe six lines of 賁 Adornment
- 初九Nine at the beginningadorning the feet · walking not riding · integrity first
- 六二Six in the second placeadorning the beard · moving with the chin · ornament follows
- 九三Nine in the third placeglossy and bedewed · lasting steadiness · never overrun
- 六四Six in the fourth placewhite adornment · the white horse · a suitor not a robber
- 六五Six in the fifth placehills and gardens · a modest bundle of silk · stingy but good
- 上九Nine at the topwhite adornment · plain at the end · aim attained
Read 賁 Adornment for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine at the beginning of hexagram 22, Adornment, mean?
- Adornment begins at the feet, the lowest and least decorated part: line one 'adorns its toes, leaves the carriage and walks.' It is a strong line in a correct place at the bottom of Li, brightness, and it corresponds to the fourth line, but the small Image says the reason it walks is that 'rightness forbids it to ride' (義弗乘也) — the carriage on offer is not one it has earned. 程頤 reads this as the person of low station whose only ornament is the integrity of their conduct: grace at the beginning consists in refusing a borrowed grandeur.
- What does hexagram 22 become when line 1 changes?
- Adornment becomes hexagram 52, 艮 Stillness (Mountain): Mountain upon mountain: keeping still. Still the back so the self is not felt, walk in the courtyard without seeing the people — rest at the right time, move at the right time.
- Is line 1 of Adornment in its correct place?
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).