Hexagram 23. Stripping Away (剝 Bō)

Trigrams

Above

☶ Gèn (Mountain) — 山 · Stillness

Below

☷ Kūn (Earth) — 地 · Receptive

Symbolic Meaning

剝 (Bō) describes the removal of supporting layers. What is above loses its foundation as what is below is gradually stripped away.

Judgment

Original Chinese:
剝，不利有攸往。
(Bō, bù lì yǒu yōu wǎng.)

"Stripping away. It is not favorable to proceed."

The structure is being undermined from below. Advancement depends on a foundation that is no longer secure.

Action does not resolve this condition. The appropriate response is to recognize the loss of support and refrain from forward movement.

Image

Original Chinese:
山附於地，剝。上以厚下，安宅。
(Shān fù yú dì, bō. Shàng yǐ hòu xià, ān zhái.)

"The mountain rests against the earth: stripping away. The superior person secures the base and stabilizes the dwelling."

The mountain depends entirely on the earth beneath it. When the base erodes, what is above cannot stand.

The only possible response is to reinforce what remains below. Stability comes from restoring or preserving the foundation.

Line 1

Original Chinese:
剝牀以足，蔑貞凶。
(Bō chuáng yǐ zú, miè zhēn xiōng.)

"The bed is stripped at its legs. Correct alignment results in an unfavorable outcome."

The lowest support is removed first. The structure begins to fail at its base.

Persisting as if nothing has changed leads directly to collapse.

Line 2

Original Chinese:
剝牀以辨，蔑貞凶。
(Bō chuáng yǐ biàn, miè zhēn xiōng.)

"The bed is stripped at its frame. Correct alignment results in an unfavorable outcome."

The weakening progresses upward. Structural integrity is further compromised.

Still attempting to maintain the situation accelerates failure.

Line 3

Original Chinese:
剝之无咎。
(Bō zhī wú jiù.)

"Stripping occurs. No error."

At this stage, the process is recognized as inevitable. There is no error in allowing it to proceed.

Blame does not arise when one does not resist what cannot be preserved.

Line 4

Original Chinese:
剝牀以膚，凶。
(Bō chuáng yǐ fū, xiōng.)

"The bed is stripped to its surface. Unfavorable outcome."

The stripping has reached the outermost layer. Nothing remains beneath to provide support.

At this point, collapse is unavoidable.

Line 5

Original Chinese:
貫魚以宮人寵，无不利。
(Guàn yú yǐ gōng rén chǒng, wú bù lì.)

"Fish are threaded in sequence. Favor is distributed through those within. Nothing is unfavorable."

Order is reintroduced through controlled distribution. Even within decline, structure can be maintained locally.

Proper alignment and coordination allow what remains to function effectively.

Line 6

Original Chinese:
碩果不食，君子得輿，小人剝廬。
(Shuò guǒ bù shí, jūn zǐ dé yú, xiǎo rén bō lú.)

"The large fruit is left uneaten. The superior person is carried forward. A person of limited capacity loses their dwelling."

A final resource remains intact, not consumed during decline.

Those aligned with structure are preserved and carried onward. Those without foundation are left exposed as the collapse completes.