Hexagram 23 of 64
Stripping Away
剝 Bō
Upper trigram: 艮 Gèn, mountain
Lower trigram: 坤 Kūn, earth
The judgment
不利有攸往。
It is not fitting to have somewhere to go.
The Great Image
山附於地，剝；上以厚下安宅。
The mountain rests against the earth: Stripping Away. In the same way, those above are generous to those below and keep their homes secure.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初六
剝牀以足，蔑貞凶。
Stripping the bed at the legs. Destroying what holds firm brings misfortune.
The damage starts at the legs of the bed, the part nobody looks at. Consider what is quietly being worn away at the base of something you rely on.
Line 2 六二
剝牀以辨，蔑貞凶。
Stripping the bed at the frame. Destroying what holds firm brings misfortune.
The wearing has reached the frame, and the line repeats its warning. Ask who else can see it, and whether it is time to say so out loud.
Line 3 六三
剝之，无咎。
Stripping it away. No blame.
In a hexagram about damage, this line carries no blame at all. If you are part of a group that is falling apart, you may be able to stay honest and step away from what is doing the harm.
Line 4 六四
剝牀以膚，凶。
Stripping the bed to the skin. Misfortune.
The stripping has reached the skin, so the trouble is no longer at a distance. Ask what you would protect first if you had to choose.
Line 5 六五
貫魚，以宮人寵，无不利。
Fish threaded on a line. Favor as for the women of the palace. Nothing is unfavorable.
Fish on a string hang in order, and the old court ranked its women in the same way for the ruler's favor. Leave that ranking in the past and consider how a fair and orderly arrangement could calm people in a hard period.
Line 6 上九
碩果不食，君子德車，小人剝廬。
A large fruit left uneaten. The noble person has a carriage of character; the petty person strips the hut.
One large fruit is left on the tree, with seeds inside it. Ask what you could leave uneaten now so that something can start again, and notice that the line shows two people using the same moment very differently.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is earth below and mountain above, with five broken lines under a single solid one. The mountain is worn down toward the ground. It stands for a time when things are coming apart from the bottom up.
The judgment is the shortest possible warning: it is not fitting to have somewhere to go. Read this way, it is a season for keeping what you can and doing less. Ask what you can stop pushing, and what close to home could use strengthening.
If your question is about a project or an organization in decline, tradition reads this as a time to wait and shore up the foundations. The image tells those in charge to be generous to those beneath them, and the top line keeps one fruit on the tree for later.
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/剝), 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 Great Image, Wikisource (A) reads 山附於地 on its 周易/大象 page, which is the base text here. The hexagram's own Wikisource page reads 山附地上 (the mountain rests on top of the earth) and punctuates 上以厚下，安宅. Project Gutenberg (B) reads 山附于地 and also punctuates 上以厚下，安宅.
- In the top line, Wikisource (A) reads 君子德車 (the noble person has a carriage of character). Project Gutenberg (B) reads 君子得輿 (the noble person gains a carriage). Wikisource carries 一作得輿 as an inline alternative reading while keeping 德車 as its base text.
- Wikisource writes 牀 and Project Gutenberg writes 床 in the first, second and fourth lines, and the Great Image has 於 in Wikisource where Project Gutenberg has 于. These are variant forms of the same words.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.