Grace
Mountain (艮 Gèn) above, Fire (離 Lí) below
Published July 22, 2026 · By Oriens
I Ching Hexagram 22, 賁 (Bì), represents Grace.
SourceZhouyi (周易, The Book of Changes) — hexagram 22 (賁 Bì). Chinese source: Chinese Text Project, based on 《武英殿十三經注疏》本《周易正義》 (ctp:book-of-changes/bi1). Judgment: received Zhouyi hexagram statement (卦辭). English: Translation by Oriens Editorial Translation. Image: Xiang / Image commentary layer (象傳), distinct from the Judgment and line texts. Image and line English: named translation by James Legge, The Yî King (1899), public-domain translation; online reproduction. The named translation is used for the Image and line statements only.
1. Judgment (卦辭 Guàcí)
賁：亨。小利有攸往。
Oriens Editorial Translation: Success. There is a small advantage in having somewhere to go.
2. Image (象 Xiàng / Xiang commentary)
山下有火,贲。君子以明庶政,无敢折狱。
James Legge: (The trigram representing) a mountain and that for fire under it form Pi. 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.
3. Line Statements (爻辭 Yáocí)
Line 1 of 6 (from the bottom):
初九：賁其趾，舍車而徒。
James Legge: The first NINE, undivided, shows one adorning (the way of) his feet. He can discard a carriage and walk on foot.
Line 2 of 6 (from the bottom):
六二：賁其須。
James Legge: The second SIX, divided, shows one adorning his beard.
Line 3 of 6 (from the bottom):
九三：賁如濡如，永貞吉。
James Legge: The third NINE, undivided, 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.
Line 4 of 6 (from the bottom):
六四：賁如皤如，白馬翰如，匪寇婚媾。
James Legge: The fourth SIX, divided, shows one looking as if adorned, but only in white. As if (mounted on) a white horse, and furnished with wings, (he seeks union with the subject of the first line), while (the intervening third pursues), not as a robber, but intent on a matrimonial alliance.
Line 5 of 6 (from the bottom):
六五：賁于丘園，束帛戔戔，吝，終吉。
James Legge: The fifth SIX, divided, shows its subject adorned by (the occupants of) the heights and gardens. He bears his roll of silk, small and slight. He may appear stingy; but there will be good fortune in the end.
Line 6 of 6 (from the bottom):
上九：白賁，无咎。
James Legge: The sixth NINE, undivided, shows one with white as his (only) ornament. There will be no error.
For the general method for changing lines and relating hexagrams, see How to Read the I Ching.
4. Modern Interpretation (Oriens commentary)
This is an Oriens interpretation, not part of the Zhouyi text.
Grace can prompt a careful question about surface and substance: what here genuinely benefits from form, finish, or ceremony, and where would decoration substitute for what must be decided on merits? The figure keeps adornment small-scale — the Image's own caution is that grace clarifies ordinary government but does not presume to decide cases.
The Chinese source and translation provenance are identified above. The Judgment is an Oriens Editorial Translation; the Image and line statements are labeled with James Legge. This keeps the modern reflection separate from both the received text and the named translation.
This reflection predicts nothing. Health, financial, legal, employment, and relationship decisions belong within their appropriate professional and personal contexts.
Continue with the Hexagram 22 card and the I Ching guide; these are reading paths, not additional predictions.