Hexagram 22 of 64
Adornment
賁 Bì
Upper trigram: 艮 Gèn, mountain
Lower trigram: 離 Lí, fire
The judgment
亨。小利有攸往。
Success. It is fitting in small matters to have somewhere to go.
The Great Image
山下有火，賁；君子以明庶政，无敢折獄。
Below the mountain there is fire: Adornment. In the same way, the noble person brings clarity to the many affairs of government and does not dare to decide lawsuits.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初九
賁其趾，舍車而徒。
Adorning the toes. Leaving the carriage and going on foot.
Someone with a carriage at hand chooses to walk, and the only decoration is on the feet. Consider where you might give up a show of status and get there on your own effort.
Line 2 六二
賁其須。
Adorning the beard.
A beard moves only when the chin does. Ask whether what you are polishing depends on something more basic that needs your attention first.
Line 3 九三
賁如濡如，永貞吉。
Adorned and glistening. Holding firm for the long term brings good fortune.
Shine and moisture make this a pleasant place to linger, and the line answers with long steadiness. Consider whether you are enjoying how things look, and whether you could keep up the substance beneath it.
Line 4 六四
賁如皤如，白馬翰如，匪寇婚媾。
Adorned and white. A white horse, swift as a bird in flight. They are no raiders. They come seeking marriage.
A rider comes fast on a white horse and looks like a raider until the purpose is known. Ask whether someone you are wary of might be approaching in good faith, and what you would need to find out.
Line 5 六五
賁於丘園，束帛戔戔，吝，終吉。
Adornment in the hill gardens. The bolt of silk is thin and scant. Shame, and good fortune in the end.
A small bolt of silk is a poor gift in a fine garden, and the giver feels it. You may worry that what you have to offer looks thin, so ask whether sincerity could count for more with the people you care about.
Line 6 上九
白賁，无咎。
Plain white adornment. No blame.
The final adornment is plain white. Consider what would be left if you took away every decorative touch, and whether that would be enough.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is fire below and mountain above, light at the foot of a rock face. It stands for decoration and form, the things that make a plain fact pleasing to see.
The judgment allows success and then narrows it: going somewhere is fitting only in small ways. Beauty can carry a small matter and cannot carry a large one. Ask which of your decisions are being made by how something looks.
If your question is about presenting your work, your home or yourself to others, tradition reads this as a good time for care over form. The image warns the noble person off deciding lawsuits on this basis, and the lines end with white, so keep checking what lies under the surface.
A hexagram is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
Where this text comes from
The Chinese follows the Wikisource text of the Zhou Yi (its page for this hexagram, 周易/賁), compared with the Project Gutenberg edition. The Great Image comes from the Wikisource page 周易/大象.
- Wikisource, 周易
Retrieved 2026-11-08
- Project Gutenberg eBook 25501, 易經
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Read this hexagram with its traditional commentaries in our library.
Where the sources differ
- In the judgment, Wikisource (A) reads 小利有攸往 and Project Gutenberg (B) reads 小利有所往. Both 攸 and 所 mark the place one goes, so the sense is the same.
- In the fifth line, Wikisource writes 於 and Project Gutenberg writes 于. These are variant forms of the same word.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.