Hexagram 23, line 2
六二Line 2 of Peeling Away
Six in the second place · 剝 bō
爻辭 The line text
剝床以辨，蔑貞凶。The second line, divided, shows one overthrowing the couch by injuring its frame. (The injury will go on to) the destruction of (all) firm correctness, and there will be evil.
剝床以辨，未有與也。'He destroys the couch by injuring its frame:'—(the superior man) has as yet no associates.
In plain words
The stripping reaches the frame of the bed (辨), the part between the legs and the mattress: the decay has climbed and is closer to the one who lies there. The text repeats the first line's verdict — 'steadiness is destroyed, evil.' Line two is yin in a central, correct place, which would normally be a position of strength; but the small Image explains why that does not help: it has no one to be with (未有與也). Its correspondent at five is also yin, so there is no strong partner to rally to, and a correct line alone in a time of stripping cannot stop it.
If this line is changing
You may be in the right, but you are alone in it; do not try to hold the line single-handed, and do not mistake being correct for being safe.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin 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 is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 5: 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 ䷃ 4 蒙 Immaturity
A spring at the foot of a mountain: youthful ignorance that can be taught. Success comes to the learner who asks sincerely — the teacher does not chase the student.
What it becomes4 · 蒙 ImmaturityméngThe 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 in the second place of hexagram 23, Peeling Away, mean?
- The stripping reaches the frame of the bed (辨), the part between the legs and the mattress: the decay has climbed and is closer to the one who lies there. The text repeats the first line's verdict — 'steadiness is destroyed, evil.' Line two is yin in a central, correct place, which would normally be a position of strength; but the small Image explains why that does not help: it has no one to be with (未有與也). Its correspondent at five is also yin, so there is no strong partner to rally to, and a correct line alone in a time of stripping cannot stop it.
- What does hexagram 23 become when line 2 changes?
- Peeling Away becomes hexagram 4, 蒙 Immaturity: A spring at the foot of a mountain: youthful ignorance that can be taught. Success comes to the learner who asks sincerely — the teacher does not chase the student.
- Is line 2 of Peeling Away 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. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).