# Hexagram 23: Splitting Apart

Canonical page: https://thefreeiching.com/library/23
Last updated: 2026-10-07

```
━━━━━━━
━━━  ━━━
━━━  ━━━
━━━  ━━━
━━━  ━━━
━━━  ━━━
```

- **Upper trigram:** [Gen 艮](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/gen), Mountain, keeping still
- **Lower trigram:** [Kun 坤](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/kun), Earth, the receptive, yielding
- **Lines, bottom to top:** 000001 (1 = solid yang, 0 = broken yin)

## Contemporary judgment

Splitting apart. Something is coming down. The structure that no longer serves is in its final days, and no amount of propping up will save it. Do not fight the collapse; it is the condition for what is coming next. Withdraw, preserve your strength, and let what is ending end cleanly.

## Image

The mountain wearing down into the earth. The superior person, perceiving the condition of those below, strengthens their foundations.

## Counsel

Stop trying to save what is genuinely finished. Not everything can be salvaged; sometimes the wisdom is to let go. Concentrate on preserving the foundation: your health, your principles, a few essential relationships. What is intact will serve as the seed of what comes next.

## The six lines

*Numbered from the bottom upward. These line texts are read when that line is changing in a cast.*

### Line 1

> A six at the beginning means:
> The bed is split apart at the leg.
> Those who persevere are destroyed. Misfortune.

### Line 2

> A six in the second place means:
> The bed is split apart at the edge.
> Those who persevere are destroyed. Misfortune.

### Line 3

> A six in the third place means:
> He splits apart with them. No blame.

### Line 4

> A six in the fourth place means:
> The bed is split apart up to the skin. Misfortune.

### Line 5

> A six in the fifth place means:
> A string of fishes. Through the palace ladies favor comes.
> Everything is furthering.

### Line 6

> A nine at the top means:
> A great fruit still uneaten is there.
> The noble one receives a wagon.
> The petty one's house is split apart.

## Related hexagrams

- **Nuclear (lines 2 to 5):** [2 The Receptive](https://thefreeiching.com/library/2)
- **Inverse (turned upside down):** [24 Return](https://thefreeiching.com/library/24)
- **Opposite (every line flipped):** [43 Breakthrough](https://thefreeiching.com/library/43)

## If one line changes

| Changing line | Relating hexagram |
| --- | --- |
| Line 1 | [27 Nourishment](https://thefreeiching.com/library/27) |
| Line 2 | [4 Youthful Folly](https://thefreeiching.com/library/4) |
| Line 3 | [52 Keeping Still](https://thefreeiching.com/library/52) |
| Line 4 | [35 Progress](https://thefreeiching.com/library/35) |
| Line 5 | [20 Contemplation](https://thefreeiching.com/library/20) |
| Line 6 | [2 The Receptive](https://thefreeiching.com/library/2) |

Previous: [22 Grace](https://thefreeiching.com/library/22). Next: [24 Return](https://thefreeiching.com/library/24). [All sixty-four hexagrams](https://thefreeiching.com/library).

*The judgment, image and counsel are original contemporary paraphrases written for The Free I Ching. The line text is the CC0 translation from [jesshewitt/i-ching](https://github.com/jesshewitt/i-ching), derived from Richard Wilhelm's 1924 German edition.*

## Cite this page

The Free I Ching. "Hexagram 23: Splitting Apart." https://thefreeiching.com/library/23 (updated 2026-10-07).

*The I Ching is a tool for reflection, not a prediction. Nothing here forecasts events or replaces professional advice. Short quotations with a link back are welcome. Please do not republish a page in full. The open data files at [/data](https://thefreeiching.com/data) are licensed CC BY 4.0.*

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Source: The Free I Ching (https://thefreeiching.com/library/23). The I Ching is a tool for reflection, not a prediction. Nothing here forecasts events or replaces professional advice.