Hexagram 23, line 1
初六Line 1 of Peeling Away
Six at the beginning · 剝 bō
爻辭 The line text
剝床以足，蔑貞凶。The first line, divided, shows one overturning the couch by injuring its legs. (The injury will go on to) the destruction of (all) firm correctness, and there will be evil.
剝床以足，以滅下也。'He overthrows the couch by injuring its legs:'—thus (he commences) his work of ruin with what is lowest (in the superior man).
In plain words
Bo is five yielding lines rising under a single strong line at the top: the Tuan says 'the yielding is changing the strong', and the small people are growing. The bed is the image of what one rests on, and the stripping starts at its legs — the lowest, least visible part. Line one is yin at the bottom of Kun, and its text, 'stripping the bed by its legs, steadiness is destroyed, evil', describes decay that has not yet reached anyone's notice. The small Image: this is how the lowest part is wiped out (以滅下也). 程頤 reads 蔑貞 as the undermining of what is correct; the fault of this line is that nothing is felt yet.
If this line is changing
Something that supports you is being worn away where no one is looking; do not dismiss the first signs because the surface is still fine.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin 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 lower trigram 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 4: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
剝 Peeling Away becomes ䷚ 27 頤 Jaws / Nourishment
Thunder at the foot of the mountain, in the shape of open jaws: nourishment. Correct nourishing brings good fortune — watch what you feed yourself and others, and what comes out of your mouth.
What it becomes27 · 頤 Jaws / NourishmentyíThe six lines of 剝 Peeling Away
- 初六Six at the beginningthe bed's legs · stripping the base · quiet ruin
- 六二Six in the second placethe bed's frame · no allies · decay spreads
- 六三Six in the third placeamong the strippers · yet no blame · loyal to the top
- 六四Six in the fourth placestripping the skin · disaster near · evil
- 六五Six in the fifth placea string of fish · leading the court · favour without fault
- 上九Nine at the topthe great fruit · the carriage · the small man's hut
Read 剝 Peeling Away for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six at the beginning of hexagram 23, Peeling Away, mean?
- Bo is five yielding lines rising under a single strong line at the top: the Tuan says 'the yielding is changing the strong', and the small people are growing. The bed is the image of what one rests on, and the stripping starts at its legs — the lowest, least visible part. Line one is yin at the bottom of Kun, and its text, 'stripping the bed by its legs, steadiness is destroyed, evil', describes decay that has not yet reached anyone's notice. The small Image: this is how the lowest part is wiped out (以滅下也). 程頤 reads 蔑貞 as the undermining of what is correct; the fault of this line is that nothing is felt yet.
- What does hexagram 23 become when line 1 changes?
- Peeling Away becomes hexagram 27, 頤 Jaws / Nourishment: Thunder at the foot of the mountain, in the shape of open jaws: nourishment. Correct nourishing brings good fortune — watch what you feed yourself and others, and what comes out of your mouth.
- Is line 1 of Peeling Away 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).