《周易·剥》卦爻辞重诂

Reinterpretation of the line statements of hexagram Bo

“剥”之义有二:《彖》释“柔变刚”,即“柔剥落刚”。“剥”读“bō”。《大象》释“山附于地”,象征“刚被剥倒在床”。“剥”读“pū”。二者结合,为“剥”之全义。爻位不同,象征“剥(pū)床”原因有别:“初”因足受剥(bō)伤而剥(pū)床;“二”因膝受剥(bō)伤而剥(pū)床;“四”因腹受剥伤而剥(pū)床。自汉代以降,将上述二义不恰当地剪接,其结果变成了“剥(bō)床”,混淆了“剥”的主客体,有违卦旨爻义,诂中遗憾由此而生。

Bo as a Chinese character has two meanings： one refers to ＂peeling off＂ as the Tuan （Judgment） interprets ＂Rou （softness） makes Gang （hardness） alternated＂; the other means ＂falling forward＂ as the Da xiang （Great Image） interprets hexagram Bo （ the 23^rd hexagram in the received version of the Zhouyi） as ＂mountain falls on the earth＂. For the line states of this hexagram, the bottom line symbolizes （the subject） ＂falls down on bed as his/her feet was injured＂ the second line signifies （the subject） ＂falls down on bed on account of the injury of his/her knees＂ the fourth line symbolizes （the subject） ＂falls down on bed due to his/her stomachache＂. Since the Han dynasty, the above-mentioned meanings have been inappropriately cut away, resulting in the meaning of ＂peeling off the bed＂. This mistakes the subject for object and violates the original meanings of the line statements.