Anonymous (traditionally attributed to King Wen, the Duke of Zhou and Confucius) · Complete work
Hexagram 23 · Bō ䷖
Hexagram 23 · Bō ䷖ of 69. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
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剝：不利。有攸往。
初六：剝牀以足，蔑貞凶。
六二：剝牀以辨，蔑貞凶。
六三：剝之，无咎。
六四：剝牀以膚，凶。
六五：貫魚，以宮人寵，无不利。
上九：碩果不食，君子德車，小人剝廬。
彖曰：剝，剝也，柔變剛也。不利有攸往，小人長也。順而止之，觀象也。君子尚消息盈虛，天行也。
象曰：山附地上，剝；上以厚下，安宅。
剝牀以足，以滅下也。
剝牀以辨，未有與也。
剝之无咎，失上下也。
剝牀以膚，切近災也。
以宮人寵，終无尤也。
君子得輿，民所載也。小人剝廬，終不可用也。
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the classical Chinese, passage for passage, covering all 64 hexagrams with their judgments, line statements and attached commentaries, and the remaining Wings (the Great Commentary, the Discussion of the Trigrams, the Sequence and the Contrasts of the Hexagrams), 1,204 passages in all.
Bo (Stripping Away): It is not favorable to have somewhere to go.
Six at the beginning: Stripping the bed from its feet. Steadfastness is destroyed: misfortune.
Six in the second place: Stripping the bed from its frame. Steadfastness is destroyed: misfortune.
Six in the third place: Stripping it away. No blame.
Six in the fourth place: Stripping the bed to the skin. Misfortune.
Six in the fifth place: A string of fish; favor comes through the palace women. Nothing is unfavorable.
Nine at the top: The great fruit remains uneaten. The noble person earns a carriage; the petty person strips away his shelter.
The Judgment Commentary says: Bo means stripping away: the yielding transforms the firm. It is not favorable to go anywhere, because petty persons are growing. Yielding and coming to rest, one observes the image. The noble person honors decrease and increase, fullness and emptiness: this is heaven's course.
The Image Commentary says: The mountain rests upon the earth: Bo. Those above strengthen what is below and make their dwelling secure.
Stripping the bed from its feet: this destroys what lies below.
Stripping the bed from its frame: there is no support yet.
Stripping it away without blame: ties with above and below are lost.
Stripping the bed to the skin: calamity draws very near.
Favor through the palace women: in the end there is no fault.
The noble person earns a carriage: the people carry him. The petty person strips away his shelter: in the end he cannot be employed.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the classical Chinese, covering all 64 hexagrams with their judgments, line statements and attached commentaries, and the remaining Wings (the Great Commentary, the Discussion of the Trigrams, the Sequence and the Contrasts of the Hexagrams), 1,204 passages in all.
Bo (Splitting Apart): It is not favorable to go anywhere.
Six at the beginning: The bed splits at its feet. Steadiness is destroyed. Misfortune.
Six in the second place: The bed splits at its frame. Steadiness is destroyed. Misfortune.
Six in the third place: Split away from them. No blame.
Six in the fourth place: The bed splits up to the skin. Misfortune.
Six in the fifth place: A string of fish, like palace women receiving favor. Nothing is unfavorable.
Nine at the top: A large fruit remains uneaten. The noble person receives a carriage; the petty person loses the roof of his house.
The Judgment Commentary says: Bo means splitting apart; the yielding changes the firm. Going anywhere is unfavorable because petty people are gaining strength. Follow willingly and stop: this is what the image shows. The noble person values decline and growth, fullness and emptiness, which follow heaven's course.
The Image Commentary says: A mountain rests on the earth: this is Bo. Those above therefore strengthen those below to make their own homes secure.
The bed splits at its feet, destroying it from below.
The bed splits at its frame because no help has yet arrived.
Splitting away brings no blame, though it loses its connection with those above and below.
The bed splitting up to the skin means disaster has come very close.
Favoring the palace women brings no fault in the end.
The noble person receives a carriage because the people support him. The petty person loses his roof and cannot be employed in the end.