The name 名
Bǐ 比 depicts two people standing shoulder to shoulder, hence closeness, reliance and mutual support. The Analects says “the noble person is broad-minded and does not form cliques” (zhōu ér bù bǐ), using bǐ in a narrow, partisan sense; in the Changes the word is positive — people drawing close and binding into a whole.
The image 象
Water (Kǎn) above Earth (Kūn): water on the ground. The earth bears the water and the water moistens the earth — each depends on the other. Kūn is compliance and stands for the people; the single yang line at the fifth place, central and correct, draws all five yin lines toward it. Unlike the hidden water of Shī, this water is visible and held in place: the realm newly settled, people finding someone to rally to.
Layers of images 層
A gua can be read on several levels at once: the trigrams as members of a family (father, mother, eldest to youngest sons and daughters), the six lines as ranks in an organisation (from newcomer to ruler), and as forces of nature and animals. Each extra level adds meaning to the line texts.
Read as a family
Below is Kūn, the mother; above is Kǎn, the middle son. The mother stands for the many, gathering below in willing support; the only yang line, Line 5, sits in the middle son’s trigram on the ruler’s seat. People gather around someone who has carried hardship and risk. Bǐ is about drawing close, but one must choose the right person, and do it in time.
Line 5, “open alliance: the king hunts on three sides and lets the game ahead escape; the townspeople need no warning”: the ruler drives from three sides and leaves one open, welcoming those who come and not chasing those who go. The townspeople are the lower Kūn together with the nuclear Kūn of lines 2–4; they feel safe and need not be on guard. This is attachment in the open.
Line 3, “allying with the wrong people”: it wants to reach Line 5, but lines 3–5 form a nuclear Gèn, stopping, and it is held back. It turns instead to the top line, another yin that will not respond, the “latecomer” of the judgment. Drawing close to the wrong person ends in hurt.
Line 4, “allying outward; steadiness is auspicious”: the fourth place is the minister right next to the ruler. It does not look down to Line 1 but turns outward and up to Line 5. A close minister’s proper work is to serve the ruler directly, so this is upright and auspicious.
Turn Bǐ over and you get Shī, the Army. Before people rally around a leader, there is often Shī’s struggle and discipline; and a tightly gathered people can be mobilised for war again. Closeness and mobilisation are two states of the same crowd.
Bǐ’s opposite is Dàyǒu, Great Possession: in Bǐ five yin lines gather around one yang, in Dàyǒu five yang lines support one yin. One shows people rallying to a strong figure; the other, capable people gladly serving a gentle leader. Seen through its opposite, real cohesion depends not only on a strong centre but on a humble one.
In sequence 序
眾必有所比，故受之以比；比者比也。
The Sequence says: “A multitude must have something to hold to, so Bǐ follows; bǐ means drawing close.” Where many gather, they must find each other and someone to rely on. Shī is the crowd mobilized for war; Bǐ is the settling after war, when parties come together and cooperate. The two are mirror images, and the Miscellaneous Commentary sums up their moods: “Bǐ is joy, Shī is worry.”
The judgment 辭
比：吉。原筮元永貞，无咎。不寧方來，後夫凶。
“Holding Together: good fortune. Examine the divination again — from the beginning, lasting and steadfast — no blame. The unsettled now come; the latecomer meets misfortune.” Union is auspicious, but its basis must be tested: yuán shì, re-examining the oracle, means probing one's real motives, for an alliance lives on sincerity and is poisoned by pretence. Those emerging from unrest now arrive; the hòu fū, the one who holds back until last, finds every place already filled.
Commentary on the judgment 彖
彖曰：比，吉也。比，輔也，下順從也。原筮，元永貞，无咎，以剛中也。不寧方來，上下應也。後夫凶，其道窮也。
The Tuan explains: bǐ is mutual support, those below following willingly. The steadfast union is blameless because the fifth line is firm and central; the unsettled come because above and below respond to each other; the latecomer meets misfortune because “his way is exhausted” — the top line, with nowhere left to go.
The great image 象
象曰：地上有水，比；先王以建萬國，親諸侯。
“On the earth there is water: Holding Together. The former kings accordingly established the myriad states and kept close ties with the feudal lords.” Seeing water and earth cling together, the ancient kings enfeoffed many states and cultivated their lords, so that the realm turned round its center like stars round the pole. Here the image speaks of the former kings rather than the noble person: its concern is the architecture of an ordered world, each part in its place and all oriented to the center.
The six lines 爻
Ruling line The fifth line, sole yang, central and correct in the place of honour, is the one all five yin lines rally to; each line's fortune depends on its relation to it.
The path of the six lines, bottom to top
Bǐ’s six lines show people coming one after another to rally around a leader. Line 1 comes first with sincerity, full as a brimming clay jar, and in the end meets unexpected good fortune; Line 2 responds to Line 5 from within, upright and auspicious; Line 3, at the top of the lower trigram, leans on the wrong people. Line 4 enters the upper trigram and turns outward to serve the ruler directly; Line 5 openly receives everyone, welcoming those who come and not chasing those who leave. The top line arrives last, with no beginning and nowhere to belong, and it is ominous: drawing close has its time, and once missed it is too late.
初六有孚，比之，无咎。有孚盈缶，終來有它，吉。
In plain words
With sincerity, draw close: no blame. Sincerity filling a plain clay jar — in the end there comes good fortune from elsewhere.
Close reading
A yin line in a yang place, out of position, unanswered by the fourth and farthest from the fifth — however fast it runs it arrives late, hence “in the end.” Kūn below is a pot, read here as a clay jar; Kǎn above is water brimming over it: sincerity so full and unadorned that everyone can see it. A fǒu is earthenware, not bronze — its worth is its plainness. The Small Image: “there is good fortune from elsewhere” — the one farthest away moves others by sincerity, and blessing arrives from an unexpected quarter.
If you drew this line
When building a relationship from scratch, plain sincerity is the surest foundation. No need to dress it up or rush ahead; keep dealing honestly and the outcome may exceed your expectations.
Ji Bu's Word
Ji Bu, a man of Chu at the turn from Qin to Han, was famous for keeping his word; the saying in Chu went, “A hundred catties of gold are worth less than a single promise from Ji Bu.” Having served as one of Xiang Yu's generals, he was hunted with a price on his head after Xiang Yu's fall, yet people risked their whole clans to hide him, and others found a way to plead his case before Liu Bang. He was pardoned and later served the Han. Trust built over years made others stand by him in danger — sincerity brimming in the jar, and good fortune from elsewhere.
六二比之自內，貞吉。
In plain words
Holding together from within: steadfastness brings good fortune.
Close reading
A yin line in a yin place, correctly placed, central in the lower trigram and in true accord with the fifth, with nothing in between. “Within” has two senses: it stands in the inner trigram and reaches outward to the fifth; and its attachment comes from the heart. The Small Image: “it does not lose itself” — it draws close to another without surrendering its own ground or sense of measure.
If you drew this line
Act on your genuine inner wish and work with the right partner; keep your own measure without straining to please.
六三比之匪人。
In plain words
Holding together with the wrong people.
Close reading
A yin line in a yang place, out of position, unanswered by the top line, and flanked by yin lines above and below — it needs a yang line to lean on and finds none. Lines three to five form Gèn, stopping: the fifth line holds it off, so it turns toward the top line, the very latecomer the judgment warns of. The Small Image sighs, “Is this not painful?” — less a judgment of its character than of the position it is caught in.
One level deeper
Line 3, “allying with the wrong people”: it wants to reach Line 5, but lines 3–5 form a nuclear Gèn, stopping, and it is held back. It turns instead to the top line, another yin that will not respond, the “latecomer” of the judgment. Drawing close to the wrong person ends in hurt.
If you drew this line
Look hard at whether the people you rely on or partner with are trustworthy and on the main, sound path. Better to pause than to bind yourself to the wrong people.
六四外比之，貞吉。
In plain words
Holding together with the one outside: steadfastness brings good fortune.
Close reading
A yin line in a yin place, correctly placed; unanswered by the first line, but directly beneath the fifth, yin supporting yang — the ideal relation of service. “Outside” means the fifth line above: the second line holds together from within, the fourth from without. The Small Image: “holding to the worthy one outside, it follows the one above.” A minister close to a sound ruler need only do the work well.
One level deeper
Line 4, “allying outward; steadiness is auspicious”: the fourth place is the minister right next to the ruler. It does not look down to Line 1 but turns outward and up to Line 5. A close minister’s proper work is to serve the ruler directly, so this is upright and auspicious.
If you drew this line
Someone worth following is right beside you. Set aside hesitation, support them steadily and do your part well; there is no need for anything more elaborate.
九五顯比。王用三驅，失前禽，邑人不誡，吉。
Variant Shown as 「三驅」; some editions read 「敺」.
In plain words
Manifest holding together. The king hunts with beaters on three sides and lets the game ahead escape; the townspeople are not alarmed. Good fortune.
Close reading
A yang line in a yang place, central and correct, in accord with the second: the ruler of the gua — “its position is correct and central,” says the Small Image. The three-sided hunt drives game from behind and both flanks, leaving the front open — no hunting to extinction. Game was for sacrifice and guests, so animals charging head-on were not shot, to spare their faces: “letting go those that oppose, taking those that go along.” In Bǐ this becomes a way of governing people: welcome those who come, do not coerce those who leave. The townspeople stay calm because they know the ruler is fair.
One level deeper
Line 5, “open alliance: the king hunts on three sides and lets the game ahead escape; the townspeople need no warning”: the ruler drives from three sides and leaves one open, welcoming those who come and not chasing those who go. The townspeople are the lower Kūn together with the nuclear Kūn of lines 2–4; they feel safe and need not be on guard. This is attachment in the open.
If you drew this line
Gather people openly and in plain view: welcome warmly those who wish to join and do not force those who don't. Be generous and fair, and people will settle of their own accord.
上六比之无首，凶。
In plain words
Holding together, but without a beginning: misfortune.
Close reading
A yin line in a yin place, correctly placed, yet unanswered by the third and perched above the fifth, riding over it. Everyone has already gathered under the ruler; arriving last, this is the judgment's latecomer. “Without a head” means without a beginning — no opening to start from. The Small Image: “there is nowhere for it to end” — with no beginning, there is no outcome either.
If you drew this line
The moment has passed and the arrangement is settled; forcing your way in now will come to nothing. Accept the situation calmly and save your energy for the next opening.
Fangfeng Arrives Late
The Guoyu records Confucius, asked by an envoy of Wu about a giant bone, recounting an old tradition: when Yu the Great assembled the spirits on Mount Kuaiji, the lord Fangfeng arrived last, and Yu put him to death. The legend is often cited alongside “the latecomer meets misfortune”: when all are gathering to a common center, lingering and arriving last is itself a slight to the shared order. One need not press the details of a legend, but it shows how seriously the ancients took timeliness.
Stories 典
Tang Opens Three Sides of the Net
Going out one day, Tang saw a man who had spread nets on all four sides, praying that every bird and beast in the world might fall into them. “That would take them all,” said Tang, and had three sides removed, leaving one, with a new prayer: let those that wish go left, go left; those that wish go right, go right; only those that will not heed, come into my net. The lords who heard of it said Tang's virtue reached even to the beasts. It is the spirit of the fifth line's three-sided hunt: never hunt to the last, leave people a way out, and more will come of their own will. Mencius describes the armies of Tang and Wu passing through where “those going to market did not stop, those tilling did not change their work” — the townspeople untroubled.
The Reading Group That Never Began
At the close of a study course on the Changes, one well-off participant volunteered to fund a reading group, and several classmates offered to help run it. Two months passed with no sign of it. One of the volunteers cast to ask whether it would happen and drew the top line of Bǐ: “holding together without a beginning — misfortune.” Bǐ needs a fifth line to lead; the top line stands at the outer edge with no one to follow. The reading was plain: not now — set it aside until the time is ripe. As Laozi says, “light promises inspire little trust”; keeping your own word does not mean others' promises are equally sound.
Insight 悟
Bǐ is about how people bind themselves into a community. Three things matter. Sincerity: an alliance fears nothing more than pretence, which is why the judgment asks us to re-examine our first motive. Choosing well: attach yourself to a sound, centered core rather than a splinter circle. Timing: commit while it counts, rather than watching until the end. For a leader, the three-sided hunt repays reflection — refuse no one who comes, chase no one who leaves, and win hearts by generosity and fairness. Fortune among people turns less on luck than on one's own sincerity and sense of measure.