The Taming Power of the Great
Mountain (艮 Gèn) above, Heaven (乾 Qián) below
Published July 22, 2026 · By Oriens
I Ching Hexagram 26, 大畜 (Dà Chù), represents The Taming Power of the Great.
SourceZhouyi (周易, The Book of Changes) — hexagram 26 (大畜 Dà Chù). Chinese source: Chinese Text Project, based on 《武英殿十三經注疏》本《周易正義》 (ctp:book-of-changes/da-xu). Judgment: received Zhouyi hexagram statement (卦辭). English: Translation by Oriens Editorial Translation. Image: Xiang / Image commentary layer (象傳), distinct from the Judgment and line texts. Image and line English: named translation by James Legge, The Yî King (1899), public-domain translation; online reproduction. The named translation is used for the Image and line statements only.
1. Judgment (卦辭 Guàcí)
大畜：利貞，不家食吉，利涉大川。
Oriens Editorial Translation: Steadfastness is fruitful. Not eating at home brings good fortune. Crossing the great water is fruitful.
2. Image (象 Xiàng / Xiang commentary)
天在山中,大畜。君子以多识前言往行,以畜其德。
James Legge: (The trigram representing) a mountain, and in the midst of it that (representing) heaven, form Ta Khu. 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.
3. Line Statements (爻辭 Yáocí)
Line 1 of 6 (from the bottom):
初九：有厲利已。
James Legge: The first NINE, undivided, shows its subject in a position of peril. It will be advantageous for him to stop his advance.
Line 2 of 6 (from the bottom):
九二：輿說輹。
James Legge: The second NINE, undivided, shows a carriage with the strap under it removed.
Line 3 of 6 (from the bottom):
九三：良馬逐，利艱貞。曰閑輿衛，利有攸往。
James Legge: 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.
Line 4 of 6 (from the bottom):
六四：童牛之牿，元吉。
James Legge: The fourth SIX, divided, shows the young bull, (and yet) having the piece of wood over his horns. There will be great good fortune.
Line 5 of 6 (from the bottom):
六五：豶豕之牙，吉。
James Legge: The fifth SIX, divided, shows the teeth of a castrated hog. There will be good fortune.
Line 6 of 6 (from the bottom):
上九：何天之衢，亨。
James Legge: The sixth NINE, undivided, shows its subject (as) in command of the firmament of heaven. There will be progress.
For the general method for changing lines and relating hexagrams, see How to Read the I Ching.
4. Modern Interpretation (Oriens commentary)
This is an Oriens interpretation, not part of the Zhouyi text.
The Taming Power of the Great can prompt a careful question about restraint at scale: what strong momentum here is worth holding in reserve rather than spending? The mountain halting heaven — small containing great — reads here as the figure's dynamic of accumulated discipline.
The Chinese source and translation provenance are identified above. The Judgment is an Oriens Editorial Translation; the Image and line statements are labeled with James Legge. This keeps the modern reflection separate from both the received text and the named translation.
This reflection predicts nothing. Health, financial, legal, employment, and relationship decisions belong within their appropriate professional and personal contexts.
Continue with the Hexagram 26 card and the I Ching guide; these are reading paths, not additional predictions.