原筮元永貞，先王建萬國
先看圖像，再讀文字。Read the image before the words.
地上有水，比
(The trigram representing) the earth, and over it that for water, form Bi.
先王以建萬國，親諸侯。
The ancient kings, in accordance with this, established the various states and maintained an affectionate relation to their princes.
地上有水，這是比之象。先王由此體會，建立萬國，封建諸侯，親近諸侯。聚合是政治結構之根本。
(The trigram representing) the earth, and over it that for water, form Bi. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, established the various states and maintained an affectionate relation to their princes.
先讀經文，再讀《彖傳》如何解釋卦辭。The received text, then the Tuan commentary on it.
比：吉。原筮元永貞，無咎。不寧方來，後夫凶。
比卦，吉。再次卜問若得「元永貞」，即大、永、正三德，則無咎。不安寧之邦來歸附，遲到的人凶。聚合之事須有德，且須及時。
Bi indicates that (under the conditions which it supposes) there is good fortune. But let (the party intended) re-examine himself, (as if) divining whether his virtue be great, unintermitting, and firm. If it be so, there will be no error. Those who have not rest will then come to him; and with those who are (too) late in coming it will be ill.
比，吉也；比，輔也，下順從也。原筮元永貞，無咎，以剛中也。不寧方來，上下應也。後夫凶，其道窮也。
比，吉。比即輔，下方順從。「原筮元永貞無咎」是因為剛在中位（九五）。「不寧方來」是上下相應之故。「後夫凶」是因為道路已窮。
Bi indicates good fortune. Bi means assisting; the inferiors are in obedience to the superior. The strong is in the central (ruling) place; he who comes late finds himself with no resource.
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.
有孚比之，無咎。有孚盈缶，終來有他吉。
有誠信而比附，無咎。誠信滿溢如缶器之滿，最終會有意外的吉慶。
The first SIX shows its subject seeking by his sincerity to win the attachment of his object. There will be no error. Let (the breast) be full of sincerity as an earthenware vessel is of its contents, and it will in the end bring other advantages.
比之初六，有他吉也。
比之初爻，有意外的吉。
比之自內，貞吉。
從內部來比附，守正則吉。柔得中位，誠心歸附，這是內合，不是表面應付。
The second SIX shows its subject seeking the attachment from within. With firm correctness there will be good fortune.
比之自內，不自失也。
從內部比附，是不失自我。
比之匪人。
比附了不該比的人，所應非人。陰柔不正，所求非正。
The third SIX shows its subject seeking for attachment with such as ought not to be associated with.
比之匪人，不亦傷乎！
比附非人，不也是傷害嗎？
外比之，貞吉。
從外部來比附，即依附九五，守正則吉。柔得位，外向求合於賢，是恰當之比。
The fourth SIX shows its subject seeking for the attachment of one beyond himself. With firm correctness there will be good fortune.
外比於賢，以從上也。
外比於賢者，是順從上位。
顯比，王用三驅，失前禽，邑人不誡，吉。
光明正大地比附，君王田獵時用三驅之禮，故意放走前面的禽，不趕盡殺絕，邑民也不驚警，吉。陽剛中正，是王者之比。
The fifth NINE shows the most illustrious instance of seeking by the display of one's attractions to obtain the attachment of others. (We see in it) the king urging his pursuit of the game (only) in three directions, and allowing the escape of all the animals before him, while the people of his towns do not warn one another (to prevent it). There will be good fortune.
顯比之吉，位正中也。舍逆取順，失前禽也。邑人不誡，上使中也。
顯比之吉是位正中。舍逆取順，故失前禽。邑人不誡，是上位使行於中道。
比之無首，凶。
比附時沒有「首」，即無原則、無首領，凶。聚合到末了還沒有明確的歸附對象，是大凶。
The topmost SIX shows one seeking attachment without taking the first (step to such an end). There will be evil.
比之無首，無所終也。
比附而無首，是沒有歸宿之地。
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.
比·孚·顯比
Holding together · sincerity · open attachment
比卦要看三個字：孚、中、顯。聚合要靠誠信，也就是初六的孚；要有中流砥柱，也就是九五的中；要光明正大不強求，也就是顯比。最忌六三「比之匪人」與上六「比之無首」。
Bi comes down to three things: sincerity, a central core, and openness. Attachment needs trust, line 1's fu; it needs a central master, line 5's centrality; and it needs openness without coercion, xian bi. Worst are line 3's 'wrong attachment' and line 6's 'no head.'
六三「比之匪人」是今天社交裡常見的失誤，加入了錯的圈子、依附了錯的人，結果反受其害。與其亂比，不如寧可孤獨一陣。
Line 3's 'wrong attachment' is a common modern social failure: joining the wrong circle, depending on the wrong person, ends in self-harm. Better to stay alone for a while than to attach wrongly.
王弼以為比卦的核心在「元永貞」三字，大、永、正三德齊備方能聚人。卦中九五為主，是「顯比」之王。他認為上六「比之無首」是聚合最大的失敗，眾人沒有明確的歸附對象則必散。
For Wang Bi the core of Bi lies in the three characters yuan yong zhen, great, enduring, correct: only with all three virtues complete can one gather people. Nine-in-the-fifth rules the hexagram, the true king of 'open attachment' (xian bi). And he takes the top line's 'holding together without a head' as the greatest failure of union: a multitude with no clear object of allegiance is bound to scatter.
程子強調「不寧方來，後夫凶」，聚合之事有時機，遲到的人就沒位置了。他認為九五「王用三驅」是仁政之象，王者不趕盡殺絕，留有餘地，民自然親附。
Cheng Yi stresses 'the restless regions come; for the latecomer, ominous': union has its moment, and those who arrive late find no place left. He reads line 5's 'the king uses the three-sided drive' as the image of benevolent governance: the true king does not hunt to extermination but leaves room, and the people attach themselves of their own accord.
朱子直言：比者，相親比附之意。卦象一陽（九五）統五陰，眾人皆比附於剛中之主。學者觀此可知，聚合的關鍵在有一個中正之主，有此主，眾人自來。
Zhu Xi is direct: bi means mutual closeness and attachment. In the hexagram's image, one yang line, nine-in-the-fifth, presides over five yin lines: the many all attach themselves to a master who is firm and central. From this the student learns that the key to union is a central and correct master; where such a one exists, the many come of themselves.
比講聚合。一陽居九五，五陰環繞來附，聚合的樞紐就在這一爻。九五的畫面是「顯比，王用三驅，失前禽，邑人不誡」：王者田獵圍三面、留一面，跑掉的禽就讓牠跑，身邊的人也不必戒備驚惶。肯留餘地、不趕盡殺絕，人反而自己來歸。反面的坑有兩個。六三「比之匪人」，靠錯了人，關係越近傷得越深；上六「比之無首」，聚了一群人卻沒有主心骨，散只是早晚的事。所以看一個團體能不能長久，先看它中間那個位置站的是誰。
Bi is about coming together. One yang sits at the fifth place and five yin gather round to attach themselves — the whole hinge of union is that single line. The picture at nine-in-the-fifth: 'open attachment; the king uses the three-sided drive, lets the front game escape, and the townspeople are not on alert.' The king hunts by enclosing three sides and leaving one open; whatever runs, let it run; the people around him need not be tense or fearful. Leave room, refuse to hunt anything to extinction, and people come to you on their own. There are two pits on the reverse side. Line 3, 'attaching to the wrong people' — lean on the wrong person and the closer the tie, the deeper the wound. The top line, 'holding together without a head' — a crowd gathered around no backbone, and scattering is only a matter of time. So to judge whether a group will last, look first at who stands in its center.
靠近、依附、聚合，是自願的歸附，不是征服。卦名即取此義。
To draw close, attach, hold together. Voluntary allegiance, not conquest. The name of the hexagram.
再一次，指再次占問，重新檢視自己是否具備比附的條件。
Again, a second time, archaic usage for divining once more, re-examining oneself.
用蓍草占卜，向神明問卦。
To divine with yarrow stalks, to put the question to the oracle.
陶製容器。初六以誠信注滿此器為喻，樸素的容器裝著實在的內容。
An earthenware vessel. Line 1's image, sincerity filling it to the brim, a plain container with real content.
通「非」，不是。「匪人」指不該親近的人，是六三比附錯了對象。
Not, archaic for 非. 'Fei ren' means 'the wrong people,' the wrong objects of attachment.
古代田獵之禮，圍三面留一面，不趕盡殺絕，喻王者留有餘地。
The three-sided drive of the ancient royal hunt: enclose three sides, leave one open. The ritual of not hunting to extermination.
警戒、提防。九五說邑人不誡，是說百姓在真王身邊不必戒懼。
To warn, be on guard. 'The townspeople are not on alert,' meaning no fear around the true king.
頭，引申為開頭、首領、核心。上六的凶正是缺了這個核心。
Head, extended to mean beginning, leader, core. What the top line's union fatally lacks.
第七師（領兵）與第八比（親附）為一對綜卦。先有領者，即師之九二，才有聚者，即比之九五。卦序揭示：組織形成是先立中流砥柱，再有眾人歸附。
Hexagram 7, Shi (leading the host), and Hexagram 8, Bi (drawing close), are an inverse pair. First there is a leader (Shi's nine-in-the-second), only then the gathering (Bi's nine-in-the-fifth). The sequence reveals how organizations form: first 'set the central pillar,' then 'the many attach themselves.'
大象「先王以建萬國，親諸侯」是中國分封制的哲學根據之一，天子非孤主，須與諸侯相親比方能成天下。後世「親親而仁民」之說，講的也是同樣的道理。
The Great Image, 'the former kings established the ten thousand states and drew close to the feudal lords,' is one of the philosophical foundations of the Chinese enfeoffment system. The Son of Heaven is not a solitary ruler; only by holding close to the lords can he complete the realm. The later formula 'be affectionate to kin, then humane to the people' voices the same idea.
九五「王用三驅，失前禽」是仁政思想的一種早期表達，古代田獵圍三面留一面，給禽獸留生路，喻王者不趕盡殺絕，民自親附。後世「網開一面」之語，說的也是這個意思。
Line 5's 'the king uses the three-sided drive and lets the front game escape' is an early expression of benevolent-governance thought. In the ancient royal hunt, three sides were enclosed and one left open, giving the animals a way out: an image of the ruler who does not exterminate, and whose people attach themselves of their own accord. The later idiom 'leave one side of the net open' voices the same idea.
上六「比之無首」一句說得很重，聚合到最後若沒有明確的核心，必散。放到今天看：沒有真領袖的團體必散，個人的人脈若沒有核心信念維繫，也只是一時的熱鬧。
The top line's 'holding together without a head' cuts deep: a union that reaches its end with no true core must scatter. Applied today, a group without a real leader will disperse, and a personal network not bound by a core conviction is just a passing crowd.
「元永貞」三字之意？為何是聚合之三德？
What do these three characters mean? Why are they the three virtues of attachment?
為何九五「王用三驅，失前禽」是仁政之象？
Why is 'three-sided drive, letting the front prey escape' the image of benevolent rule?
用上六「比之無首」評論一個你看見過的「無核心而散」的群體。
Use line 6 to comment on a group you've seen disperse for lack of a true core.