Hexagram 22, line 6
上九Line 6 of Adornment
Nine at the top · 賁 bì
爻辭 The line text
白賁，无咎。The sixth line, undivided, shows one with white as his (only) ornament. There will be no error.
白賁无咎，上得志也。'The freedom from error attached to (the subject of) the topmost line, with no ornament but the (simple white),' shows how he has attained his aim.
In plain words
At the top of Bi all colour is gone: 'white adornment, no blame.' Line six is the strong line at the end of Gen, stillness, and the Tuan's 'strong line above that adorns the weak' — its ornament is the absence of ornament. Where line one refused a carriage, line six has no further need of anything to refuse. The small Image says this line 'attains its aim above' (上得志也): the whole hexagram was moving toward the point where grace and substance are the same thing. 程頤: ornament at its extreme returns to the plain, and so avoids the fault of excess that most top lines carry.
If this line is changing
Strip the presentation back to the plain truth of the thing; at this stage simplicity is the only ornament that cannot be faulted.
Where the line stands
- A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang line that moves when cast.
- It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning.
- It belongs to the upper trigram 艮 Gen (Keeping Still) (mountain).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 3: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
賁 Adornment becomes ䷣ 36 明夷 Brightness Hidden
The sun sunk under the earth: the light wounded. In dark times it is favourable to persevere — hide your brilliance, as the ancient sage did under a tyrant.
What it becomes36 · 明夷 Brightness Hiddenmíng yíThe 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 top of hexagram 22, Adornment, mean?
- At the top of Bi all colour is gone: 'white adornment, no blame.' Line six is the strong line at the end of Gen, stillness, and the Tuan's 'strong line above that adorns the weak' — its ornament is the absence of ornament. Where line one refused a carriage, line six has no further need of anything to refuse. The small Image says this line 'attains its aim above' (上得志也): the whole hexagram was moving toward the point where grace and substance are the same thing. 程頤: ornament at its extreme returns to the plain, and so avoids the fault of excess that most top lines carry.
- What does hexagram 22 become when line 6 changes?
- Adornment becomes hexagram 36, 明夷 Brightness Hidden: The sun sunk under the earth: the light wounded. In dark times it is favourable to persevere — hide your brilliance, as the ancient sage did under a tyrant.
- Is line 6 of Adornment in its correct place?
- It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).