Hexagram 23 · Bo 剝
Attend to the foundations when support is weakening
Bo places Mountain above Earth. A single unbroken line remains above five divided lines. The line texts describe a bed being stripped from its feet upward, making the loss of support progressively more immediate.
Short answer
Read Bo as a prompt to examine what can still carry weight. Reduce demands on a weakened situation, protect essential support, and assess whether advancing would place more pressure on what is deteriorating.
- Upper
- Gen · Mountain
- Lower
- Kun · Earth
Pattern
Mountain above Earth
- Chinese
- 剝
- Upper trigram
- Gen · Mountain
- Lower trigram
- Kun · Earth
- Lines
- One yang in the sixth position
Classical text
Strengthen what supports the whole
剝：不利有攸往。— Zhouyi, Hexagram 23
The judgment says it is unfavorable to have somewhere to go. The Tuan commentary explains splitting apart through the yielding changing the firm and counsels responsiveness with stopping. It places decline within the broader movement of increase and decrease. The judgment here uses normalized punctuation consistent with that commentary.
The Image says “山附地上，剝；上以厚下，安宅”. The Image describes the mountain resting on the earth and those above strengthening what is below to secure their dwelling. The final line preserves the image of a large uneaten fruit alongside contrasting outcomes for different conduct. Applied today, this can suggest conserving what remains sound and supporting the base of a strained effort. That is an interpretation, not a forecast of collapse or a guarantee that renewal will follow on a particular date.
When it helps
Attend to essential support
Identify which resource, relationship, or routine is under strain. Choose what must be preserved, what load can be reduced, and who needs to help stabilize the situation.
What to watch
Keep demands within capacity
Maintaining every appearance of normal progress can add pressure to weak foundations. Review the capacity available and decide which commitments need to be reconsidered.
Questions for reflection
- What support is weakening, and what evidence shows it?
- Which demand could I reduce now?
- What remains sound enough to protect or build upon?
Read moving lines with the question and method of your own cast; this reference is not a complete reading. See how changing lines are displayed.
Sources
Check the original text
This page paraphrases the classical material and identifies its modern applications as interpretation.