Hexagram 22 of 64
賁 Bì · Grace
上 艮 Mountain (Gèn) over 下 離 Fire (Lí)
Make it a little finer.
Judgment
Zhouyi, hexagram 22, judgment. English translation in preparation.
Image
In short: fire below the mountain.
Zhouyi, hexagram 22, Great Image. Short gloss by Koyonari; full translation in preparation.
Commentary
Bì is fire burning at the foot of the mountain; its light reflects upon the slopes, revealing the mountain's delicate grain. Bì speaks of ornamentation: making something refined is no empty pretense; it invites others to draw near, and keeps you inspired to continue. Time spent on form and aesthetics today is by no means wasted.
Koyonari commentary.
The Six Lines
“Adorning one's feet, leaving the carriage to walk on foot.” Bì means adornment, making something look beautiful. The first line adorns its feet and leaves the carriage to walk, expressing a preference for accepting a simple situation rather than embellishing oneself through conveniences that violate what is right. What matters here is that the action itself is fitting.
Zhouyi, hexagram 22, line 1. Koyonari translation.
“Abandoning the carriage to walk: by duty one does not ride.” Giving up the carriage to proceed on foot, the Xiang Commentary says “by duty one does not ride”: duty forbids riding. Initial nine dwells at the lowest level without office, so one prefers to walk.
Zhouyi, hexagram 22, line 2. Koyonari translation.
“Adorning one's beard.” ‘Adorning the beard’ means grooming it. A beard is attached to the lower jaw and moves with it; it cannot move on its own. This illustrates that adornment must depend on the substance it adorns. The second line's actions must likewise follow whatever it depends on.
Zhouyi, hexagram 22, line 3. Koyonari translation.
“Adorning his beard: rising together with the one above.” Trimming the beard moves along with facial expressions; the Xiang Commentary notes this is because six in the second place serves nine in the third with yielding virtue, acting and rising only with the superior above, incapable of standing independently.
Zhouyi, hexagram 22, line 4. Koyonari translation.
“Lustrous and moist; perpetual steadfastness brings good fortune.” The adornment is splendid, with a moist, lustrous sheen. Rú rú describes this moist luster. Even in such a situation, ‘lasting steadfastness’, holding firmly to the right path over time, is needed for ‘good fortune’, a good outcome. An attractive appearance must not become something to lose oneself in.
Zhouyi, hexagram 22, line 5. Koyonari translation.
“Perpetual steadfastness brings good fortune: ultimately none can violate him.” The good fortune of lasting steadfastness comes because, as the Xiang Commentary says, “none can violate him”: nine in the third place preserves correctness without drowning in ornamentation, so none can ultimately encroach upon him.
Zhouyi, hexagram 22, line 6. Koyonari translation.
“Adorned in pure white; white horses soaring as if with wings. Not bandits, but suitors.” There is a wish for adornment, yet the appearance remains plain white. White horses race as if flying; those approaching are seeking marriage, rather than coming as bandits. Pó rú means pure white, and hàn rú describes a speed like flight. On the surface there are doubts, fears, and obstacles, but what is actually sought is union with one another.
Zhouyi, hexagram 22, line 7. Koyonari translation.
“Six in the fourth: properly positioned, yet doubting. Not bandits, but suitors: ultimately no blame.” The Xiang Commentary notes “properly positioned, yet doubting”: six in the fourth is a yin line in a yin seat, correctly placed yet suspicious; the visitor seeks marriage rather than plunder, so no grievance remains.
Zhouyi, hexagram 22, line 8. Koyonari translation.
“Adorning the hill garden; rolls of silk modest and plain. Slight distress, in the end good fortune.” Adornments are placed in a simple hillside garden, and even the bundles of silk used are meager. Jiān jiān is interpreted here as few and scant. At first this seems stingy, bringing ‘humiliation’, a sense of shame and regret. Yet the emphasis is on simplicity, so the final judgment is still ‘good fortune’, meaning a good outcome.
Zhouyi, hexagram 22, line 9. Koyonari translation.
“The good fortune of six in the fifth brings joy.” Regarding the fortune of six in the fifth, the Xiang Commentary says there is “joy”: though the line mentions lìn (hardship in the sense of meagerness, a small cause for regret), occupying the honored place while valuing simplicity over superficial adornment brings ultimate good fortune, hence called joyful.
Zhouyi, hexagram 22, line 10. Koyonari translation.
“White simplicity adorns; no blame.” ‘White adornment’ means using plain white as decoration, without pursuing elaborate embellishment any further. At the top line of Bì, adornment reaches its limit and returns to simplicity. ‘No blame’ means no fault; what is affirmed is that outward decoration ultimately returns to the underlying substance as it originally was.
Zhouyi, hexagram 22, line 11. Koyonari translation.
“White adornment brings no blame: above, he attains his will.” Returning to pure simplicity without artificial ornamentation frees one from blame; the Xiang Commentary explains that dwelling at the hexagram's apex, where decoration reaches its limit and yields to pristine nature, allows one to fulfill a noble aspiration beyond external embellishments.
Zhouyi, hexagram 22, line 12. Koyonari translation.