Hexagram 26: Dà Chù (Great Taming)
山天大畜 · 第 26 卦 · Mountain over Heaven · 中文版
The Judgment
Under the conditions of Da Xu it will be advantageous to be firm and correct. (If its subject do not seek to) enjoy his revenues in his own family (without taking service at court), there will be good fortune. It will be advantageous for him to cross the great stream.
大畜：利贞，不家食吉，利涉大川。
Commentary on the Judgment (Tuan)
In (the trigrams composing) Da Xu we have (the attributes) of the greatest strength and of substantial solidity, which emit a brilliant light; and indicate a daily renewal of his virtue (by the subject of it). The strong line is in the highest place, and suggests the value set on talents and virtue; there is power (in the upper trigram) to keep the strongest in restraint: - all this shows 'the great correctness' (required in the hexagram). 'The good fortune attached to the subject's not seeking to enjoy his revenues in his own family' shows how talents and virtue are nourished. 'It will be advantageous to cross the great stream:' - (the fifth line, representing the ruler,) is responded to by (the second, the central line of Qian, representing) Heaven.
彖曰：大畜，刚健笃实辉光，日新其德，刚上而尚贤。能止健，大正也。不家食吉，养贤也。利涉大川，应乎天也。
The Great Image
(The trigram representing) a mountain, and in the midst of it that (representing) heaven, form Da Xu. The superior man, in accordance with this, stores largely in his memory the words and deeds of former men, to subserve the accumulation of his virtue.
象曰：天在山中，大畜；君子以多识前言往行，以畜其德。
The six lines
Line 1 (first): The first NINE, undivided, shows its subject in a position of peril. It will be advantageous for him to stop his advance.
'He is in a position of peril; it will be advantageous for him to stop his advance:' - he should not rashly expose himself to calamity.
In plain words: There is danger; it is favourable to stop. The first line is strong and wants to advance but is held back by the fourth line, its partner; pushing on would be dangerous. The Small Image says it does not run into disaster.
初九：有厉利已。 象曰：有厉利已，不犯灾也。
Line 2 (second): The second NINE, undivided, shows a carriage with the strap under it removed.
'(He is as) a carriage from which the strap under it has been removed:' - being in the central position, he will incur no blame.
In plain words: The cart's axle block is removed, and it stops. The second line is held back by the fifth; being central, it can stop of its own accord. The Small Image says keeping to the middle, it is without fault.
九二：舆说輹。 象曰：舆说輹，中无尤也。
Line 3 (third): The third NINE, undivided, shows its subject urging his way with good horses. It will be advantageous for him to realise the difficulty (of his course), and to be firm and correct, exercising himself daily in his charioteering and methods of defence; then there will be advantage in whatever direction he may advance.
'There will be advantage in whatever direction he may advance:' - (the subject of) the topmost line is of the same mind with him.
In plain words: Good horses gallop in pursuit; it is favourable to be steadfast in hardship: good fortune. Practising daily with chariot and defence, it is favourable to go somewhere. The third line and the top line are both yang and share the same aims, so it can advance, but it must still practise every day. The Small Image says its aims match the one above.
九三：良马逐，利艰贞，吉。日闲舆卫，利有攸往。 象曰：利有攸往，上合志也。
Line 4 (fourth): The fourth six, divided, shows the young bull, (and yet) having the piece of wood over his horns. There will be great good fortune.
'The great good fortune indicated by the fourth six, (divided),' shows that there is occasion for joy.
In plain words: The horn guard on a young bull: supreme good fortune. The guard is a board tied across the horns to stop it goring. The fourth line holds back the first while it is still young, which takes little effort and works well. The Small Image says there is joy.
六四：童牛之牿，元吉。 象曰：六四元吉，有喜也。
Line 5 (fifth): The fifth six, divided, shows the teeth of a castrated hog. There will be good fortune.
'The good fortune indicated by the fifth six, (divided),' shows that there is occasion for congratulation.
In plain words: The tusks of a gelded boar: good fortune. Once gelded, a boar grows docile, and its tusks, though still there, do no harm. The fifth line holds back the second not by force but by removing its aggression at the root. The Small Image says there is cause for celebration.
六五：豮豕之牙，吉。 象曰：六五之吉，有庆也。
Line 6 (sixth (top)): The sixth NINE, undivided, shows its subject (as) in command of the firmament of heaven. There will be progress.
'In command of the firmament of heaven:' - the way is grandly open for movement.
In plain words: How open is the highway of heaven: success. The highway is a road leading in every direction; some read the first word as "bearing". The top line is at the height of great restraint: the store is full, and the road is open. The Small Image says the way is carried out in a great way.
上九：何天之衢，亨。 象曰：何天之衢，道大行也。
Line positions
3 of the six lines stand in their proper place (strong lines in odd places, weak lines in even places).
The second and fifth lines hold the central places of the lower and upper trigrams; being one strong and one weak, they correspond.
Of the three pairs of corresponding places (first and fourth, second and fifth, third and top), 2 pairs are made of one strong and one weak line.
| Line | Proper place | Central | Corresponds with |
|---|---|---|---|
| top (strong) | — | — | 3rd line: no |
| 5th (weak) | — | yes | 2nd line: yes |
| 4th (weak) | yes | — | 1st line: yes |
| 3rd (strong) | yes | — | top line: no |
| 2nd (strong) | — | yes | 5th line: yes |
| 1st (strong) | yes | — | 4th line: yes |
Strong lines belong in odd places and weak lines in even places; the second and fifth are the central places; first and fourth, second and fifth, third and top correspond, and they "respond" when one is strong and the other weak.
These are structural conventions, not scores of good or bad fortune. Commentators differ: Wang Bi treats the first and top places as beginning and end without fixed yin or yang positions. Read each line with its Small Image and the whole hexagram.
Place in Jing Fang's eight palaces
Jing Fang grouped the 64 hexagrams into eight "palaces" of eight, each headed by a doubled trigram. Changing the lines of the head hexagram one by one from the bottom gives the next five; the last two are the "wandering soul" and "returning soul" hexagrams. The Gen palace runs: Gèn (head), Bì (1st change), Dà Chù (2nd change), Sǔn (3rd change), Kuí (4th change), Lǚ (5th change), Zhōng Fú (wandering soul), Jiàn (returning soul).
A recorded case from Takashima
Da Chu to Da You: should his cement works sell this year?: Takashima owned a cement works at Atsuta in Aichi, and its manager asked about the year's sales. The fourth line of Da Chu, "a board on the young bull's horns; supreme good fortune", led him to read that the product would not move this year and should be stored until 1892.
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English text: James Legge, The Yi King (Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16, 1882), public domain, as transcribed by the Chinese Text Project. Chinese: the received text. Offered for study and reflection, not as prediction.