I Ching · Hexagram 22 of 64
Hexagram 22: Bi （贲） — Grace
Bi is Mountain over Fire: fire at the foot of the mountain adorns the hills and streams like the afterglow of a setting sun, infinitely fair. Its name means adornment, but not the painting of the surface: it is to adorn with culture and to adorn with light, bathing a person's temper and heart in civilization. The six lines mark six steps inward from savagery to culture, ending in the return to plainness.
At a glance
| Hexagram | 22 of 64 |
|---|---|
| Name | Bi 贲 · Grace |
| Upper trigram | Gen （艮）· Mountain |
| Lower trigram | Li （离）· Fire |
| Structure | Mountain over Fire |
| Lines | 6 lines |
The Judgment （卦辞）
Grace. Success. In small matters it is favorable to go forward.
ExplainedGrace is the light of the heart lending beauty to a life, so that one's bearing and deeds carry truth, goodness and beauty and are therefore easily received. That only small matters prosper means a good appearance wins only a small part of success, yet it cannot be dispensed with, for most people judge by the surface. Still appearance is not the root: one moves from fitting dress to good speech, to courtesy and learning, and at last to a cultivated heart and noble virtue, layer by layer from without inward, until the heart itself shines.
Tuan Zhuan — Commentary on the Judgment （彖传）
Grace brings success. The yielding comes and adorns the firm, therefore success. The firm is divided and goes above to adorn the yielding, therefore in small matters it is favorable to go forward. Firm and yielding interlace: this is the pattern of Heaven. To be bright and to rest: this is the culture of man. Looking at the pattern of Heaven, one discerns the changes of the times; looking at the culture of man, one transforms and completes the world.
ExplainedThe leopard's hide shows the yielding made bright in its markings, the image of one who joins firmness and gentleness: a soft and humble bearing with decisive and upright action. First impressions must be steady as a mountain and close company gentle as warmth, and so one is easily accepted. The interlacing of yin and yang is the pattern of Heaven, by which one may read the rise and fall of a person or a nation. Culture begins when the heart can rest and be still, for brightness is born of quiet, and to transform the world is to dissolve its evil and complete its good.
Xiang Zhuan — Image Commentary （大象）
Fire below the mountain: Grace. Thus the noble one clarifies the common affairs of government, and dares not decide lawsuits.
ExplainedFire at the foot of the mountain, the setting sun, stands for noble virtue nourishing life. The noble one takes from it the duty to understand the ordinary affairs of the people, their food and clothing and lodging, and to stoop to take part in them, sweeping, cooking and relief work alike, able to do anything that is needed. Yet he dares not judge the right and wrong of others or decide life and death, for what is not his office is not his to decide.
The Six Lines （六爻）
The lines are read from the bottom upward. Each carries its own text, a Small Image commentary, and a plain-English reading.
Line 1 · YangLine 1
He adorns his toes. He leaves his carriage and walks.
Small ImageHe leaves his carriage and walks: in rightness he does not ride.
ExplainedTrimming the toenails means caring first for the feet that must walk a long road, and to leave the carriage is to begin the long journey on foot, for no one reaches the summit in a single step. What is called for is rightness rather than advantage, so that the journey of life unfolds step by step from the simplest duties.
Line 2 · YinLine 2
He adorns his beard.
Small ImageHe adorns his beard: he rises with what is above him.
ExplainedThe beard moves with the mouth and has no will of its own, the image of the beginner who must listen and serve, honoring his teacher and keeping close to good friends, doing as the master bids until he learns. To follow what is above is to flourish; to insist on one's own opinion while still ignorant is the surest way to fail.
Line 3 · YangLine 3
Adorned and steeped, steadfast forever. Good fortune.
Small ImageThe good fortune of lasting steadfastness: in the end none can overstep him.
ExplainedTo be steeped is to plunge wholly into the waters of culture rather than to look before and behind. So doing, one remains a noble one forever and no one can surpass him. Half-hearted coming and going wins only a passing acquaintance with the Way; only a resolution without turning back produces a true person.
Line 4 · YinLine 4
Adorned and white, a white horse galloping. Not a robber, but a suitor.
Small ImageThe fourth six is in its place, yet there is doubt. Not a robber, but a suitor: in the end there is no blame.
ExplainedA deeper bathing turns the black of a life to white, so that purity and goodness show from within and are felt by all. The white horse means one both pure and swift, quick and orderly in action. The hardest grudge to dissolve is the one within, and when resentment is spent there remains only compassion, so that an enemy becomes kin.
Line 5 · YinLine 5
He adorns the hill and garden. The bundle of silk is small and scant. Regret, but in the end good fortune.
Small ImageThe good fortune of the fifth six: there is joy.
ExplainedTo adorn hill and garden is to love the created world, which is the inexhaustible treasury of the Maker and the body of the Way itself; to enter it is to behold one's own nature. Such a one keeps his wants low and his life simple, and so in the end finds good fortune, for the joy of the Way fills him and the natural within joins the natural without.
Line 6 · YangLine 6
Plain grace. No blame.
Small ImagePlain grace without blame: the highest attains its purpose.
ExplainedPlain grace needs no further adornment, for it is the highest adornment of all: the return to the uncarved, when the paint of fame, knowledge and even merit is washed away and the heart, all obstruction ended, becomes pure light. One whose purpose is joined to Heaven simply urges others back to their own nature, needing neither craft nor commentary, for word and deed are one.
Key takeaway
Grace is not surface ornament but the adornment of a life by culture and light, ending in plainness.
Frequently asked questions
What does Hexagram 22 (Bi) mean in the I Ching?
Bi is Mountain over Fire: fire at the foot of the mountain adorns the hills and streams like the afterglow of a setting sun, infinitely fair. Its name means adornment, but not the painting of the surface: it is to adorn with culture and to adorn with light, bathing a person's temper and heart in civilization. The six lines mark six steps inward from savagery to culture, ending in the return to plainness.
What is the judgment of Hexagram 22?
Grace. Success. In small matters it is favorable to go forward. Grace is the light of the heart lending beauty to a life, so that one's bearing and deeds carry truth, goodness and beauty and are therefore easily received. That only small matters prosper means a good appearance wins only a small part of success, yet it cannot be dispensed with, for most people judge by the surface…
What do the six lines of Hexagram 22 say?
Line 1: He adorns his toes. He leaves his carriage and walks. Line 2: He adorns his beard. Line 3: Adorned and steeped, steadfast forever. Good fortune. Line 4: Adorned and white, a white horse galloping. Not a robber, but a suitor. Line 5: He adorns the hill and garden. The bundle of silk is small and scant. Regret, but in the end good fortune. Line 6: Plain grace. No blame.
What is the main lesson of Hexagram 22 (Grace)?
Grace is not surface ornament but the adornment of a life by culture and light, ending in plainness.
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