Bi (Grace) - Adornment

Meaning and Overview

The upper trigram of the Bi hexagram is Gen, representing a mountain, and the lower trigram is Li, representing fire. Fire beneath the mountain forms the Mountain Fire Bi hexagram. Fire was humanity's first step into civilization, so the Bi hexagram symbolizes civilization, adornment, and beautification. The Tuan commentary says: 'Bi (Grace) indicates progress and success. The weak line comes to adorn the strong, hence progress and success. The strong line goes above to adorn the weak, hence 'it is advantageous to have a small goal to go to.' This is the pattern of heaven. Restraint through civilization is the pattern of humanity. By observing the patterns of heaven, one discerns the changes of seasons; by observing the patterns of humanity, one transforms and completes the world.' So-called civilization means the mutual adornment of the strong and the weak: the weak adorns the strong, the strong goes above to adorn the weak, yin and yang interweave, creating beauty. The pattern of heaven is the interweaving and balancing of strong and weak; the pattern of humanity is restraint through civilization. 'By observing the patterns of heaven, one discerns the changes of seasons' means observing celestial phenomena to grasp seasonal changes, establish an accurate calendar, and not miss farming seasons. 'By observing the patterns of humanity' means examining folk customs, promoting good and simple traditions, to educate the people. The second and fifth lines occupy the central positions; this hexagram is a yin hexagram, where yin is small and yang is great. Hence the hexagram statement says 'progress and success, it is advantageous to have a small goal to go to' — smooth progress, favorable for small matters. All six line statements revolve around the theme of adornment and civilization. The first line says: 'He adorns his toes, gives up the carriage and walks.' This shows the first line strictly observing ritual propriety and the way of civilization. The first line represents the common people; in ancient times, commoners were generally not allowed to ride in carriages according to ritual, while officials had to ride. Therefore, the first line gives up the carriage and walks on foot, showing understanding of civilization and ritual. The second line says: 'He adorns his beard.' The second line represents an official with higher social status, so he must dress and groom appropriately. A man's beard is a prominent gender characteristic; the second line uses adorning the beard to illustrate that a man should pay attention to his appearance. If the second line, being a yin line in a yin position, cannot represent a man, it can also be understood as the second line adorning the beard for the husband represented by the third line, beautifying his appearance. The third line also adorns... The ninth line is also about adornment. Its line statement says, "Adorned and moistened, enduring correctness brings good fortune." This means that adornment should be lustrous and gentle, and lasting good fortune comes from long-term adherence to correctness. The ninth line, at the end of the lower trigram, connects upward to the sixth line and downward to the second line, representing the peak of adornment. However, it must be grounded in firmness and uprightness, and one should not pursue excessive ornamentation at the expense of substance. The sixth line's statement, "Adorned yet plain, like a white horse galloping, not a robber but a suitor," uses the whiteness of the horse to symbolize a return to simplicity, emphasizing that the ultimate stage of civilization is to return to the unadorned. The fifth line, occupying the honored position, says, "Adorning the hill garden, with a small bundle of silk, though seemingly stingy, ultimately brings good fortune." This indicates that those in high positions should value simplicity in adornment; what appears frugal leads to auspicious outcomes. The top line states, "White adornment, no fault," using white as the ultimate form of decoration, revealing that the highest realm of civilization is plainness and naturalness—adornment without adornment. The entire hexagram begins with ornamentation and ends with a return to simplicity, reflecting the profound insight of the *Zhouyi* into the essence of civilization: though adornment is beautiful, it must not lose its true nature; though civilization flourishes, it must ultimately return to the natural.