26 · Hexagram 26

大畜

Da Xu · Great Accumulation (Mountain over Heaven)

多識前言往行,以畜其德

上卦upper trigram · / Mountain下卦lower trigram · / Heaven

Image

先看圖像,再讀文字。Read the image before the words.

大象傳《大象傳》從上下卦的自然圖像推演全卦之象,再提出人事取法。The Great Image derives conduct from the two trigrams' natural images.Great Image

  1. 全卦成象Whole image

    天在山中,大畜

    (The trigram representing) a mountain, and that for heaven in the midst of it form Da Xu.

  2. 人事取法Conduct

    君子以多識前言往行,以畜其德。

    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.

天在山中——大畜之象。君子由此體會:要多識古聖先賢的言論行為,以蓄積自己的德性。

(The trigram representing) a mountain, and that for heaven in the midst of it 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.

Words

先讀經文,再讀《彖傳》如何解釋卦辭。The received text, then the Tuan commentary on it.

卦辭對整個卦(六條線為一組)的總體判斷。The judgment on the hexagram as a whole.
Judgment

大畜:利貞,不家食,吉,利涉大川。

大畜卦——利於守正。不在家中(私下)吃食而到朝廷做事,吉,利於涉險大事。蓄積之大用是出而為公。

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.

彖傳十翼之一,直接解釋卦名、卦辭及其剛柔結構。Tuan Zhuan — explains the name, the Judgment and the line structure.
Commentary on the Judgment

大畜,剛健篤實輝光,日新其德,剛上而尚賢,能止健,大正也。不家食吉,養賢也。利涉大川,應乎天也。

大畜:剛健(乾)篤實而有輝光,日新其德。剛在上(上九)而尚賢,能止住剛健(艮止乾),是大正之道。「不家食吉」是養賢於朝。「利涉大川」是因為應於天。

(The trigrams composing) Da Xu have the attributes of the greatest strength, with substantial solidity, and brightness — characteristics of those whose virtue is daily renewed. The strong line is in the highest place, and indicates the honour given to the men of talents and virtue.

Lines

六條線各有一句判斷。閱讀次序初→上;卦象由下而上,看左側的卦。One statement per line, read from the first line to the top. The figure is drawn bottom-up — watch the rail.

初九
見險即止see peril, halt
1 爻 · line 1 · yang

有厲,利已。

有險——利於停止。蓄之初不可進。

The first NINE shows its subject in a position of peril. It will be advantageous for him to stop his advance.

小象十翼之一。對爻辭的古典短註。Xiao Xiang — short classical commentary on this line.

有厲利已,不犯災也。

有險而停,是為了不冒災。

九二
主動止車remove the strap
2 爻 · line 2 · yang

輿說輹。

車脫了車輪——主動停下。剛得中位,知止。

The second NINE shows a carriage with the strap under it removed.

小象十翼之一。對爻辭的古典短註。Xiao Xiang — short classical commentary on this line.

輿說輹,中無尤也。

車脫輻條,居中位無尤。

九三
熟練再行practice then go
3 爻 · line 3 · yang

良馬逐,利艱貞。曰閑輿衛,利有攸往。

良馬追逐——利於艱難守正。要熟練於御車與防衛之術,利有所往。

The third NINE 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.

小象十翼之一。對爻辭的古典短註。Xiao Xiang — short classical commentary on this line.

利有攸往,上合志也。

利有所往,是與上爻志合。

六四
防於初guard at start
4 爻 · line 4 · yin

童牛之牿,元吉。

在小牛角上加木板(防其觸人)——大吉。陰柔在尊近之位,能於初而止。

The fourth SIX shows the young bull, (and yet) having the piece of wood over his horns. There will be great good fortune.

小象十翼之一。對爻辭的古典短註。Xiao Xiang — short classical commentary on this line.

六四元吉,有喜也。

六四大吉,有喜慶。

六五
化剛為柔soften the fierce
5 爻 · line 5 · yin

豶豕之牙,吉。

閹割過的豬之牙(去其暴而留其用)——吉。柔得尊位,能化解剛猛。

The fifth SIX shows the teeth of a castrated hog. There will be good fortune.

小象十翼之一。對爻辭的古典短註。Xiao Xiang — short classical commentary on this line.

六五之吉,有慶也。

六五之吉,有福慶。

上九
通天之路heaven's avenue
6 爻 · line 6 · yang

何天之衢,亨。

何等通達天上的大道——亨通。蓄之至成,行於天上之路。

The topmost NINE shows its subject (as if) in possession of the roads of the sky. There will be progress.

小象十翼之一。對爻辭的古典短註。Xiao Xiang — short classical commentary on this line.

何天之衢,道大行也。

通天之衢,是大道得行。

Use

把象套到你的情境,取一個可行的下一步。Apply the image to your situation; take one practical step.

畜·日新·不家食

Accumulation · daily renewal · not eating at home

把象套到你的情境 · Apply the image to your situation
  1. 初九事業初期見阻即停——不冒進。Career start, halt at obstruction — no rash advance.
  2. 九二主動停止錯的方向——居中無尤。Voluntary halt of wrong direction — central, no fault.
  3. 九三練熟核心技能後再衝刺——艱貞利往。Master core skills before sprinting — auspicious.
  4. 六四在新人犯錯前先立規(如小牛角加木)——大吉。Set rules before newbie errs — auspicious.
  5. 六五化解烈性下屬之鋒芒——可用而不傷——吉。Soften a fierce report — useful without injury.
  6. 上九蓄積至成——大道得行——亨通。Accumulation matured — the great road opens.
可行的一步 · Practical move

大畜卦最大的應用:「日新其德」+「多識前言往行」。德性是日日更新的,不是一次完成。最高境是上九「何天之衢」——蓄積至成,大道自行。最具體的化人之法在六四「童牛之牿」(防於未然)和六五「豶豕之牙」(化烈為馴)。

Da Xu's deepest applications: 'daily renewal' + 'know many words and deeds of the ancients'. Virtue is renewed daily, not completed once. Peak: line 6 'heaven's avenue opens' — once accumulated, the great road runs of itself. Two concrete taming methods: line 4 (prevent before) and line 5 (transform after).

失手之處 · Failure mode

現代人最深的大畜之失:以為「畜」就是囤積資源/知識而不出。卦辭「不家食吉」直擊此病——蓄積必須出來為公,不出則蓄無用。

Modern's deepest failure: thinking 'accumulation' means hoarding resources/knowledge without giving back. The judgment's 'eating not at home is auspicious' hits this — true accumulation must serve the public; hoarded, it's wasted.

義理Commentary4
三國·魏 (226–249 CE)王弼《周易注》Wang BiScholarly

王弼以為大畜卦的核心在「能止健」——上艮止下乾,是「以止蓄健」。卦辭「不家食」是說真正的蓄積必須出來為公,不可獨享。讀此卦最該記住「日新其德」四字。

For Wang Bi the core of Da Xu lies in 'being able to halt the vigorous': Gen above stops Qian below — accumulating strength by means of restraint. The Judgment's 'not eating at home' means true accumulation must come out to serve the public; it may not be enjoyed alone. The four characters most worth remembering in this hexagram: 'daily renewing one's virtue' (ri xin qi de 日新其德).

北宋 · 11th c.程頤《伊川易傳》Cheng YiScholarly

程子強調大象「多識前言往行,以畜其德」——學習古人的言行是蓄德的根本。彼以為大畜是「止健」之卦:能止才能蓄,蓄而後能行(上九「何天之衢」)。

Cheng Yi stresses the Great Image's 'know many words and past deeds of the ancients, so as to accumulate one's virtue' — studying the words and conduct of earlier men is the root of storing virtue. He reads Da Xu as the hexagram of 'halting the vigorous': only one who can stop can accumulate, and only after accumulating can one act (the top line's 'thoroughfare of heaven').

南宋 · 12th c.朱熹《周易本義》Zhu XiIntroductory

朱子直言:大畜者,蓄之大者也。卦中六四「童牛之牿」與六五「豶豕之牙」是兩種「化剛為馴」之法——前者於初而止,後者於成而化。學者觀此知:化人化物之道。

Zhu Xi says it plainly: Da Xu is accumulation at its greatest. Line 4's 'headboard on the young ox' and line 5's 'tusks of the gelded boar' are two methods of taming the fierce — the former stops it at the start, the latter transforms it once formed. The student learns from this the way of transforming people and things.

21 世紀現代傳承·編輯組原創Modern lineageIntroductory

大畜講怎麼積。上艮下乾,以止畜健:跑得動的先按住,按住了纔存得下來。積的路徑,大象說得平實,「多識前言往行,以畜其德」,德是見識餵出來的,前人的言行讀得多了,判斷自然厚。積成之後看兩處。卦辭「不家食,吉」,蓄積大了就不該關起門自用,要出來食於朝、養於公;上九「何天之衢,亨」,積滿之日,路自己開。全卦最高明的一手是六五「豶豕之牙,吉」:豬去了勢,獠牙自然傷不了人。化解剛猛要從根上治,勝過在鋒口上硬擋。

Da Xu is about how to accumulate. Gen above, Qian below — storing strength by stopping it: what can run gets held down first, and only what is held down gets stored. The path of accumulation is stated plainly in the Great Image: 'know many words and past deeds of the ancients, and store up your virtue.' Virtue is fed by exposure — read enough of what earlier people said and did, and your judgment thickens on its own. Once the store is full, watch two places. The Judgment says 'not eating at home — auspicious': when your accumulation is large, don't shut the door and consume it yourself; come out, eat at court, serve the public. The top line says 'the thoroughfare of heaven — success': the day the store is full, the road opens by itself. The finest move in the whole hexagram is line 5, 'the tusks of the gelded boar — auspicious': geld the boar and its tusks can no longer hurt anyone. Defuse fierceness at the root — it beats blocking the blade edge-on.

注解Annotation9

To accumulate, store up; also carries the sense 'to rear, to nourish' (as with livestock) — both are active in this hexagram.

To stop, desist.

tuō

Loan character for 脫 (tuō), 'to remove, detach.'

The wooden block beneath a carriage's axle — remove it and the carriage cannot move.

xián

Practiced, skilled — trained to fluency.

wèi

Defense, guarding.

The wooden board fixed over a young ox's horns to keep it from goring.

fén

A gelded boar — fierceness removed at the root.

A great open thoroughfare; here, the highway of heaven.

歷史Context4
無妄大畜成對
Wu Wang and Da Xu — pair

第 25 無妄與第 26 大畜為一對綜卦。先有無妄之純真(不妄動),才能有大畜之積德。妄動者無以積。

Hexagram 25 Wu Wang and Hexagram 26 Da Xu form an inverse pair (zong gua 綜卦). Only with Wu Wang's innocence (no reckless action) can Da Xu's accumulation of virtue follow. One who moves recklessly has nothing to store.

「日新其德」·中國學問之根
'Daily renewing virtue' — root of Chinese learning

彖傳「日新其德」四字是中國學習思想的源頭——德性是日日更新的,不是一次完成的。後世《大學》「苟日新,日日新,又日新」即與此呼應。

The Tuan Zhuan's four characters 'daily renewing one's virtue' are a headwater of Chinese thinking on learning: virtue is renewed day by day, never completed in one stroke. The Great Learning's 'if you can renew yourself one day, do so day after day, and renew yet again' echoes this.

「多識前言往行」·讀古之要
'Knowing many words and deeds of the ancients'

大象此句立中國「讀古」之傳統——蓄德之法在於識得古人的言與行,從中提煉智慧。後世「以史為鑑」「溫故而知新」皆與此呼應。

This sentence of the Great Image founds the Chinese tradition of 'reading the ancients': the method of storing virtue is to know the words and deeds of earlier people and distill wisdom from them. Later maxims — 'take history as a mirror,' 'review the old to know the new' — all answer to it.

「不家食吉」·公私之別
'Eating not at home auspicious' — public vs. private

卦辭「不家食吉」深刻——真正的蓄積之人不應私享其德,應出而為公。後世「達則兼濟天下」即與此呼應。

The Judgment's 'not eating at home is auspicious' cuts deep: the person of true accumulation should not enjoy his virtue in private but come out to serve the public. The later ideal 'when successful, benefit all under heaven' echoes this.

練習Practice3
  1. char-recall

    「日新其德」四字之意?這如何成為《大學》之根?

    What does 日新其德 (ri xin qi de) mean? How is it a root of the Great Learning (Da Xue)?

  2. parse

    為何「不家食吉」?真正的蓄積為何要出而為公?

    Why is 'not eating at home auspicious'? Why must accumulation serve publicly?

  3. line-read

    用六五「豶豕之牙」評論一個你見過將烈性化為可用之力的人。

    Use line 5 to comment on someone who tamed a fierce force into usable strength.