Why does the text say “a bestowal is granted”? The word “fu” in the I Ching refers to material gain and generally corresponds to the Xun trigram. “You fu” — having a bestowal — means that the focal player receives a reward and gains material benefit. In Hidden L1, the image changes into Li over Xun stacked through Qian. Li represents the eyes and the mechanism of supervision and inspection, belonging to the focal-player side. Xun can be understood both as material gain and as appointment to office. In the hair-combing scene, the specialist receives material compensation and is about to begin work; in the human domain, the scrutiny officer receives an appointment.

What makes this bestowal necessary? In Transformed L1, the lower trigram Zhen represents the other player — the energy opposed to Gen, the harmful elements. When Zhen appears below the Kun trigram formed by lines two, three, and four, it shows that harmful elements have appeared within the Kun-side group. The Kan-Zhen image indicates that these harmful elements bring challenges to the focal player, which is why the combing process must be initiated. Correspondingly, in the Hidden Hexagram, Qian changes into Xun, showing that the health of the Qian side is hindered by these harmful elements. Because Qian represents the head and the leader, this also means that harmful elements are threatening the head — and so combing becomes necessary. This is the background of the first line: a crisis appears, and the focal player is called into service.

Why does the text say “combing through it carries no fault”? Since the combing process is about to begin, an inexperienced interpreter might feel uncertain. Kan means harm, so the original hexagram changing into Kan over Zhen might seem to suggest that the Zhen side brings unmanageable harm. Xun means failure, so the Hidden Hexagram changing into Li over Xun might seem to imply that the Li side fails. Could the focal player’s act end in failure?

The line statement addresses this doubt directly. In Transformed L1, lines one through four form Kun over Zhen; Kun carries images of weakness and failure, suggesting that the Zhen side is weak and its action fails. In Hidden L1, the upper Li trigram is stacked with the Qian trigram formed by lines two, three, and four; the presence of Qian shows that the Li side’s action succeeds and wins. Therefore, the lower Xun trigram should be understood as gain and benefit — the bestowal — rather than as failure. When the other player is weak and the focal player is backed by Qian’s support, the combing action succeeds. This is why the text says “no fault.”

Why does the text describe “the bestowal is a clay pot brimming with grain”? In Transformed L1, lines one through five form a stacked Gen-Zhen image. Zhen represents a vessel; Gen represents covering and the lid of a vessel. Since Gen is also stacked with the upper Kan trigram, the image suggests material overflowing from a vessel so that the lid can no longer close properly — too much reward to be fully contained. In Hidden L1, the upper Li trigram, formed by half-Gen and half-Zhen, gives the image of a vessel with a lid, while the lower Xun trigram suggests that the vessel’s capacity is exceeded. Lines two through five form Dui stacked with Qian: Qian means abundance, Dui means overflow. Again, excessive abundance places too much burden on the vessel.

The purpose of this image is to resolve a potential interpretive confusion. We already know that the other player is weak and the focal player succeeds — but the stacked Kan-Gen image still carries an unfavorable implication for the Gen side, and Li over Xun still seems to imply some failure. The clay-pot image answers both puzzles: under the premise of the focal player’s success, the unfavorable implication of Kan stacked with Gen is expressed only as a “happy problem” — there is so much gain that the vessel’s lid cannot close. Likewise, Li over Xun becomes the vessel being too small, so some reward spills out. These are defects of abundance, not of failure.

Why does the text add the detail about aged grain? Transformed L1 can be viewed as a stacked Kan-Kun-Zhen image. Zhen carries the image of grain; Kun means storage and abundance; together, Kun-Zhen stacked implies stored wheat. Kan means oldness and crisis, while Zhen also means insects. This shows that wheat may become infested through long storage — a familiar fact of household experience. For wheat infested with worms, the most direct remedy is to sift. Hidden L1 is Li over Xun stacked through Qian: Li means a crisscrossed mesh and scrutinizing; Xun means gain; Qian means success and the correct method. In other words, simply performing the “Bi” action — sifting the wheat — removes the worms and yields a rich harvest.

This metaphor serves two purposes. On one hand, it confirms that the focal player has a legitimate reason to conduct scrutiny and has therefore been given the task. On the other hand, it confirms that the other player does not pose a serious threat and that the act of scrutinizing will bring gain. The text then says “auspicious” — auspicious for both focal players, primary and secondary. For the Gen side, the appearance of a crisis leads to appointment, and the overflowing bestowal shows that even the weak other player brings gain. For the Qian side, the harmful elements disappear through the combing, and the Li-Xun image suggests that the Qian side also obtains benefit. Both sides of the focal player gain from this action, and so the text says simply “auspicious” — not merely “auspicious for the diviner.”

The first line is the starting point of the hexagram’s story. The theme of Bi is combing out head lice. The prerequisite for removing lice is that lice must first appear. Here, the first line describes the appearance of harmful elements and the hair-combing specialist’s receipt of payment — setting the stage for all the combing actions that follow.