剝
Bō · Splitting Apart
When things are falling away, protect the base and keep one seed.
The judgment
剝：不利有攸往。
Splitting apart. It does not help to go anywhere: the structure is coming down, and movement only speeds it.
Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex23.judgment.
The image
象曰：山附於地，剝。上以厚下安宅。
The mountain rests on the earth: splitting apart. Those above thicken the foundation below, so the house stays standing.
Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex23.image.
When things are falling away, protect the base and keep one seed.
The six lines
Each line is a stage, from the bottom of the hexagram to the top. Open any line to read it in plain English.
初六 剝床以足，蔑貞凶。 The bed is stripped at the legs. Ignoring the rot brings misfortune: it starts underneath.
The bed is stripped at the legs. Ignoring the rot brings misfortune: it starts underneath.
六二 剝床以辨，蔑貞凶。 The bed is stripped to the frame. Ignoring it still brings misfortune: the damage is rising.
The bed is stripped to the frame. Ignoring it still brings misfortune: the damage is rising.
六三 剝之，無咎。 Stripping it away. No blame: sometimes cutting the decayed part is the right move, even alone.
Stripping it away. No blame: sometimes cutting the decayed part is the right move, even alone.
六四 剝床以膚，凶。 The bed is stripped to the skin. Misfortune: the damage has reached the body.
The bed is stripped to the skin. Misfortune: the damage has reached the body.
六五 貫魚，以宮人寵，無不利。 String the fish together and let the palace people have their place. Nothing unfavorable: order among the many ends the rot.
String the fish together and let the palace people have their place. Nothing unfavorable: order among the many ends the rot.
上九 碩果不食，君子得輿，小人剝廬。 The big fruit is not eaten. The great person gets a carriage; the small person strips the house. Keep the seed through the winter.
The big fruit is not eaten. The great person gets a carriage; the small person strips the house. Keep the seed through the winter.