卦辭對整個卦（六條線為一組）的總體判斷。The judgment on the hexagram as a whole.
Judgment
賁，亨。小利有攸往。
賁卦——亨通。小有利於有所往。文飾雖美而不可主大事——賁是「外飾」之道，不是根本之變。
Bi indicates that there should be free course. There may be little advantage from movements undertaken.
第 22 卦 · Hexagram 22
賁
Bi · Grace (Mountain over Fire)
文明以止，人文化成
上上卦upper trigram☶艮 · 山 / Mountain下下卦lower trigram☲離 · 火 / Fire
象Image
先看圖像，再讀文字。Read the image before the words.
大象傳《大象傳》從上下卦的自然圖像推演全卦之象，再提出人事取法。The Great Image derives conduct from the two trigrams' natural images.Great Image
- 全卦成象Whole image
山下有火，賁
(The trigram for) a mountain with that for fire under it form Bi.
- 人事取法Conduct
君子以明庶政，無敢折獄。
The superior man, in accordance with this, throws a brilliancy around his various processes of government, but does not dare (in a similar way) to decide cases of criminal litigation.
山下有火——賁之象。火光照山而文飾之，但火不能透山之深。君子由此體會：要明察各種政事，但不敢輕易斷案。明只能照表，不能盡察人情之深——故折獄須慎。
(The trigram for) a mountain with that for fire under it form Bi. The superior man, in accordance with this, throws a brilliancy around his various processes of government, but does not dare (in a similar way) to decide cases of criminal litigation.
辭Words
先讀經文，再讀《彖傳》如何解釋卦辭。The received text, then the Tuan commentary on it.
彖傳十翼之一，直接解釋卦名、卦辭及其剛柔結構。Tuan Zhuan — explains the name, the Judgment and the line structure.
Commentary on the Judgment
賁，亨。柔來而文剛，故亨。分剛上而文柔，故小利有攸往。天文也。文明以止，人文也。觀乎天文以察時變，觀乎人文以化成天下。
賁亨——柔來而文飾剛（離下卦中之柔），故亨。剛分而上以文飾柔（艮上卦上爻之剛），故小利有所往。日月星辰是天之文。「文明以止」是人文。觀察天文以察時序變化，觀察人文以化育天下。
Bi indicates that there should be free course. (We see how) the weak line comes and ornaments the strong lines, and hence (it is said), 'There will be free course.' On the other hand, the strong line above ornaments the weak ones, and hence (it is said), 'There will be little advantage in movements.' (This is to say all this) belongs to the inscriptions of nature.
爻Lines
六條線各有一句判斷。閱讀次序初→上；卦象由下而上，看左側的卦。One statement per line, read from the first line to the top. The figure is drawn bottom-up — watch the rail.
初九
趾
賁其趾舍車adorn feet, leave carriage
賁其趾，舍車而徒。
文飾自己的腳趾——舍棄車輛而徒步。賁之始：文飾從足下開始；舍車徒步，是不貪車之華而能甘於樸。
The first NINE shows one adorning (the way of) his feet. He can discard a carriage and walk on foot.
小象十翼之一。對爻辭的古典短註。Xiao Xiang — short classical commentary on this line.
舍車而徒，義弗乘也。
舍棄車輛而徒步，是義所不可乘。
六二
須
賁附於上adornment depends on above
賁其須。
文飾鬍鬚。鬍鬚附麗於頦——文飾之物須有所附。柔得中正而附於九三之剛，是賁之得體。
The second SIX shows one adorning his beard.
小象十翼之一。對爻辭的古典短註。Xiao Xiang — short classical commentary on this line.
賁其須，與上興也。
文飾鬍鬚，是隨上而興起。
九三
濡
潤而守永lustrous, keep upright
賁如濡如，永貞吉。
文飾光潤——永遠守正則吉。陽得正位而與六二、六四二陰相比，文飾如濡潤——須持久守正方吉。
The third NINE shows its subject with the appearance of being adorned and bedewed (with rich favours). But let him ever maintain his firm correctness, and there will be good fortune.
小象十翼之一。對爻辭的古典短註。Xiao Xiang — short classical commentary on this line.
永貞之吉，終莫之陵也。
永遠守正之吉，是終究無人能凌駕。
六四
皤
白潔疑而合white, doubt resolves to union
賁如皤如，白馬翰如，匪寇婚媾。
文飾如此潔白——白馬奔馳——不是強盜，是來求婚的。陰柔得正而與初九遠應——欲行而疑（過皤如），終至「匪寇婚媾」之合。
The fourth SIX shows one adorned, but only in white. As if (mounted on) a white horse, and furnished with wings, (he seeks union with the object of his affections), while (the intervening) party between them act as if they were bandits. (In the end), however, marital union is effected.
小象十翼之一。對爻辭的古典短註。Xiao Xiang — short classical commentary on this line.
六四，當位疑也。匪寇婚媾，終無尤也。
六四，位當而有疑。不是寇是婚媾，終究無過失。
六五
丘園
樸素之賁simple grace
賁于丘園，束帛戔戔，吝，終吉。
文飾於丘園（樸素之地），所束之帛少而薄——有吝，終吉。柔得尊位卻喜樸素——形象上似吝（少給人華麗），但因實而非華，終得吉。
The fifth SIX shows its subject adorning (the simplicity of) the hills and gardens. The roll of silk presented (in token of his economical conduct) appears to be small and thin. There may be occasion for some regret, but in the end there will be good fortune.
小象十翼之一。對爻辭的古典短註。Xiao Xiang — short classical commentary on this line.
六五之吉，有喜也。
六五的吉，是有喜事。
上九
白賁
返樸歸真return to simplicity
白賁，無咎。
白色的文飾——無咎。賁之極——文飾返歸樸素，純白無染。是文飾之最高境：去其華而存其質。
The topmost NINE shows one with white as his (only) ornament. There will be no error.
小象十翼之一。對爻辭的古典短註。Xiao Xiang — short classical commentary on this line.
白賁無咎，上得志也。
白賁無咎，是上得其志（返樸歸真）。
用Use
把象套到你的情境，取一個可行的下一步。Apply the image to your situation; take one practical step.
文·化·樸
Adornment · culture · simplicity
把象套到你的情境 · Apply the image to your situation
- 初九趾新人不貪虛榮願步行——根基在實。New hire forgoes prestige, walks the path — rooted in substance.
- 六二須個人形象隨團隊風格——附而得體。Personal image fits team style — fitting.
- 九三濡事業繁盛而有光潤——須永守正。Career lustrous — must stay upright forever.
- 六四皤看似阻礙實是機緣——疑而後合。Apparent obstacle is opportunity — doubt resolves to union.
- 六五丘園領導力以樸素勝過華飾——終吉。Leadership through simplicity beats display — ultimately auspicious.
- 上九白賁事業之最高境是返樸——無咎。Career's peak is return to plainness — no error.
可行的一步 · Practical move
賁卦最大的應用：「文以載道」+「白賁無咎」。任何個人、產品、組織的形象（賁）都要為其本質服務，過度文飾必傷其質。最高境是上九「白賁」——返樸歸真。最該避免的是「以包裝代本質」——卦辭「小利有攸往」直接點出文飾不能主大事。
Bi's deepest applications: 'form carries substance' + 'white grace, no error'. Any person's, product's, or organization's image (Bi) must serve its substance — over-adornment damages essence. Peak: line 6 'white grace' — return to plain. Avoid 'packaging replacing substance' — the judgment 'small advantage in moving' directly says: adornment cannot lead big things.
失手之處 · Failure mode
現代許多過度設計的產品、自我中心的領導、在社交媒體上精心經營的個人形象，都是「賁過其質」之例——華麗外表掩蓋空洞本質。「文明以止」四字是這個時代的解藥。
Modern era is full of 'Bi over substance' — over-designed products, ego-driven leaders, social-media-curated personas. Glossy form hides hollow essence. 'Civilized restraint' is this age's antidote.
義理Commentary4
王弼以為賁卦的核心在「柔文剛」+「剛文柔」——剛柔互文，是賁之真義。文飾不是脫離本質的華麗，而是剛柔相成的自然之美。讀此卦最該記住「文明以止」四字——文飾要適可而止，不可過華。最高境是上九「白賁」——返樸歸真。
For Wang Bi the core of Bi is 'the yielding adorning the firm' and 'the firm adorning the yielding' — firm and yielding gracing each other is the true meaning of adornment. Ornament is not splendor detached from substance but the natural beauty of firm and yielding completing one another. What most deserves remembering are the four characters 'cultured brightness that knows where to stop' (wen ming yi zhi 文明以止): adornment must know its limit and not run to excess. The highest attainment is the top line's 'white adornment' (bai bi 白賁) — the return to the plain and the true.
程子強調賁卦的爻辭層次：初九「賁其趾舍車而徒」是不貪外華；上九「白賁」是返樸歸真——一始一終都指向「文以載道」。中間四爻是文飾之過程：賁須、賁濡、賁皤、賁丘園——層層深入。最高境是六五「束帛戔戔」——以樸素為文飾，是賁之至。
Cheng Yi stresses the layered structure of the line statements: line 1, 'adorning his feet, leaving the carriage to walk,' refuses outward splendor; the top line, 'white adornment,' returns to the plain and true — beginning and end both point to 'form exists to carry the Way.' The four middle lines trace the process of adornment — the beard, the lustrous, the white, the hill-garden — each a layer deeper. The highest attainment is line 5, 'the roll of silk, small and thin': taking plainness itself as the adornment is Bi at its utmost.
朱子直言：賁，飾也。山下有火，明照於上，是文飾之象。學者讀此卦最該記住彖傳「觀乎人文以化成天下」——「人文」一詞的源頭即此。賁不只是個人裝飾，是文化、禮儀、教化的根本。又當深記上九「白賁」——文飾的最高境是無飾，回歸本真。
Zhu Xi is direct: bi means to adorn. Fire beneath the mountain, its light shining upward — the image of adornment. What the student should remember above all is the Tuan Zhuan's 'observe the pattern of humanity (ren wen 人文) to transform and complete the world' — the very source of the term 'humanities.' Bi is not merely personal decoration; it is the root of culture, ritual, and moral education. And hold fast to the top line, 'white adornment': the highest adornment is no adornment — the return to what is genuine.
賁是文飾。山下有火，火光把山照出輪廓，山還是那座山，只是被照見了。個人的形象、一個組織的門面，往大了說整個文明的禮樂，都是賁的事。但卦辭把話說得很收斂：「亨，小利有攸往」，只許小利。文飾能成的事有限，包裝一旦拿來頂替本體，賁就成了遮羞布。 彖傳「觀乎人文，以化成天下」是「人文」「文化」這些詞的老家。要緊的在「化成」兩字，文化拿來變化人、成就人，裝點門面只是它的皮。全卦收在上九「白賁，無咎」：修飾到頭，回到素白。最高明的文飾看不出修飾，這一爻替中國美學定了調。
Bi is adornment. Fire under the mountain: the firelight traces out the mountain's contours — the mountain is still the same mountain, only now it is seen. A person's image, an organization's storefront, and at the largest scale a whole civilization's rites and music are all Bi's business. But the Judgment keeps its promise modest: 'success; small advantage in going somewhere' — small advantage only. What adornment can accomplish is limited, and the moment packaging starts standing in for the thing itself, Bi becomes a fig leaf. The Tuan Zhuan's 'observe the pattern of humanity to transform and complete the world' is the old home of words like 'humanities' and 'culture.' The weight sits in the two characters 'transform and complete' (hua cheng 化成): culture exists to change people and bring them to completion; dressing up the facade is only its skin. The hexagram closes on the top line, 'white adornment, no blame': refinement carried to the end returns to plain white. The finest adornment shows no trace of adornment — this one line set the keynote of Chinese aesthetics.
注解Annotation11
賁bì
To adorn, to grace with pattern (read bi in the fourth tone, not ben).
舍shě
To give up, to set aside.
徒tú
To go on foot.
須xū
Beard — an ornament that only exists attached to something else (the chin).
濡rú
Moist, glossy — the sheen of well-tended adornment.
皤pó
White, unstained — plain whiteness.
翰hàn
Swift, galloping — the manner of the white horse in line 4.
媾gòu
Marriage, union.
丘園qiū yuán
Hills and garden plots — figure for a plain, unadorned place.
戔戔jiān jiān
Scant, meager in appearance.
白賁bái bì
White adornment — ornament returned to pure plainness; the return to the genuine.
歷史Context4
賁噬嗑成對·文與斷
Bi and Shi Ke — adornment and biting through
第 22 賁與第 21 噬嗑為一對綜卦——噬嗑斷障、賁文飾。前者用力清障、後者用文修飾。讀此卦理應與噬嗑並讀——任何系統既要有「噬嗑」的清障力、又要有「賁」的文飾美。
Hexagram 22 Bi and Hexagram 21 Shi Ke form an inverse pair: Shi Ke bites through obstruction, Bi adorns. One clears the blockage by force, the other refines by culture. Read the two together — any system needs both Shi Ke's power to clear and Bi's grace to adorn.
「人文化成」·中國「人文」一詞之源
'Wen-hua' — origin of the Chinese word for culture
彖傳「觀乎人文以化成天下」是「人文」「文化」「文明」三詞在中國語境中的根本來源。「化成」二字尤關鍵——文化的本質是「變化而成就」人，不是裝飾。後世「文以載道」「文質彬彬」皆與此相應。
The Tuan Zhuan's 'observe the pattern of humanity to transform and complete the world' is the root source, in the Chinese context, of three terms: renwen (humanities), wenhua (culture), and wenming (civilization). The two characters hua cheng 化成 are the crux — the essence of culture is to 'transform and complete' people, not to decorate them. Later phrases such as 'form carries the Way' and 'refinement and substance in balance' all answer to this.
「文明以止」·對過度文飾的警示
'Civilized restraint' — warning against over-adornment
彖傳「文明以止」是中國美學的根本——文飾要懂得停止，過度則為偽飾。後世「過猶不及」「華而不實」皆與此相應。卦辭「小利有攸往」也是同意——文飾不可作為主導力量。
The Tuan Zhuan's 'cultured brightness that knows where to stop' is a root of Chinese aesthetics: adornment must know when to stop, for excess becomes false ornament. Later sayings like 'going too far is as bad as falling short' and 'flowery but fruitless' answer to it. The Judgment's 'small advantage in going somewhere' agrees — adornment must never be the leading force.
上九「白賁」·大成若缺的美學
'White grace' — aesthetics of consummate simplicity
上九「白賁無咎」是中國美學的最高境——大成若缺、大華若樸、大美若白。後世道家「五色令人目盲」、儒家「文質彬彬」、禪宗「一花一葉」皆與此相應。最華的文飾是無飾。
The top line, 'white adornment, no blame,' is the summit of Chinese aesthetics — great completion seems lacking, great splendor seems plain, great beauty seems white. The Daoist 'the five colors blind the eye,' the Confucian 'refinement and substance in balance,' and the Chan 'one flower, one leaf' all answer to it. The most splendid adornment is no adornment.
練習Practice3
- char-recall
「觀乎人文以化成天下」是中國「人文」「文化」之源——「化成」二字何以成為文化的本質？
'Observing human culture to transform the world' is the source of the Chinese term 'human culture' — why is 'transform-and-accomplish' the essence of culture?
- parse
為何上九「白賁」是賁之最高境？返樸與華飾如何在此統一？
Why is line 6 'white grace' the peak of adornment? How do plainness and adornment unite here?
- line-read
用「文明以止」評論你看見過某個 over-designed 的產品或人物。
Use 'civilized restraint' to comment on an over-designed product or person you've seen.