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Man, I’m getting lax with my I Ching studies here, just as we’re about a third of the way through the book. (Well, a glancing blow at the book, but you gotta start somewhere.)
So, here we are at bi, the hexagram of rococo ornamentation. No, really. It’s about things that are beautiful, but not necessarily functional – at least not at first. After the decisive, collaborative (but abrupt) action of shi he, “biting through”, we’re ready to put on a few finishing touches to make our changes a little more polished, considered and graceful.
What’s the character for this hexagram?
Wilhelm calls this hexagram “Grace,” but Huang translates the name as “Adorning.” He says the ideogram shows three sprigs of grass (hui) over a cowrie shell (bei). He links the cowrie shells to money, which was used for ornamentation as well as to buy and sell things (and created by putting a specific kind of ornamentation on things like cowrie shells or little metal discs). Something about that explanation just makes me think of macrame, for which I apologize. But yeah, I grew up in the ’70s. Grass fibers & seashells, hanging on the wall.
What’s on the top?
The outer trigram is gen, the still mountain. Solid. Stubborn. Unmoving. Peaceful.
What’s on the bottom?
The inner trigram is li, the clinging fire. Energetic. Bringing the awesome energy of the heavens down into a form we can use.
What’s in the guts?
The nuclear trigrams are shaky, spinning zhen, the thunder, and dangerous, watery kan. So there’s risk and agitation hidden under the solid exterior — perhaps grace & adornment are there to pacify an inner turmoil, hmm?
What’s it from far away?
The Judgement verse says
GRACE has success.
In small matters
It is favorable to undertake something.
In other words, it suits you to use ornamental things sparingly.
The Image verse depicts fire at the base of the mountain, as in a pleasant homestead in the valley – a small, twinkling light in a greater darkness. Adornment isn’t good for large-scale success, but it makes all the difference close to home.
What’s it saying up close?
The Lines verses depict a young man traveling and growing in various ways — drawn by a carriage, walking, growing a beard, riding a winged horse, and so on. The progression from bottom to top seems at first glance to describe someone leaving external ornamentation and surrounding oneself with more and more natural simplicity — exiting the carriage to walk on foot (the first line), withdrawing to pursue sincerity in a simple, remote homestead (the fifth line), until the final unadorned ornamentation of pure function (the sixth line). Nice and smooth (to coin a phrase).
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I’m using the Wilhelm/Baynes translation from the comprehensive Wengu collection or the user-friendly Eclectic Energies site. Feel like going deeper? Check out Hong Kong’s Taoist Culture & Information Centre’s I Ching page, and the essays & reviews on Ma Xia’s Yijing Page
