Splitting Apart剥 · Bō
Releasing what is spentA structure is losing support from below. Do not prop up what is already spent; protect the seed of what can begin again later.
THE STRUCTURE
Two trigrams, one field of change.
Mountain 艮
stillness and limits · Mountain
Earth 坤
receptivity and support · Earth
SIX STAGES
Read from the ground upward.
These are original modern reflection prompts, not translations of the traditional line texts.
- Line 1Foundation
At the beginning, releasing what is spent asks for quiet preparation. Establish the ground before seeking visible progress.
- Line 2Emergence
Bring releasing what is spent into ordinary work and relationships. Support and honest feedback now matter more than display.
- Line 3Friction
Friction tests the theme. Name the strain, keep the next step proportionate, and avoid forcing an early conclusion.
- Line 4Responsibility
Influence is growing. Align inner intent with outward conduct and notice the example your choices set for others.
- Line 5Maturity
Use releasing what is spent with clarity and responsibility. This is a moment to coordinate, correct, and serve the larger whole.
- Line 6Transition
At the extreme, even a strength can harden into excess. Recognize when to release, rebalance, or change course.
Sources and editorial record
Original modern-English draft informed by the public-domain source tradition; no Wilhelm/Baynes prose is reproduced.
- Status
- editorial-draft
- Version
- hexagram-en-draft-v1
- Reviewer
- Pending
- Zhouyi (received Chinese text)Ancient source used for the sequence, names, line structure, and source comparison.
- James Legge, The Yî King (1882)Public-domain English reference used to cross-check structure and conventional naming; no passage is copied into this draft.