SIX LINES
The Horse Fair
䷙

Hexagram 26

大畜

Dà Xù

Great Taming

The Horse Fair — Rosa Bonheur, 1852–55

Powerful draft horses rear and surge forward, their muscular bodies restrained by handlers at the Paris horse market on Boulevard de l'Hôpital. Rosa Bonheur painted this monumental scene between 1852 and 1855, spending eighteen months sketching at the market to study how great force is channeled and controlled. The horses' wild energy meets human skill—neither dominates, but together they create directed power. Dust rises, hooves strike pavement, handlers lean into their work.

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This is Da Chu (大畜), the Chinese hexagram of Great Accumulating Force. Mountain (Gen) sits above Heaven (Qian): stillness holds the creative in check, containing rather than opposing it. Ancient diviners saw this configuration when immense energy required patient taming before useful deployment. The character 畜 depicts livestock—animals whose natural strength serves human purposes through gradual habituation, not breaking. Bonheur's handlers don't fight the horses but redirect their momentum through practiced positioning and timing. Bonheur's monumental painting depicts powerful horses restrained by handlers at the Paris horse market on Boulevard de l'Hôpital. The dynamic composition shows great force held in check—wild energy tamed through skill and persistence. She sketched at the market for eighteen months, studying how accumulated strength is channeled and controlled. The Judgment text speaks to contained power: "It furthers one to cross the great water." Great undertakings become possible, but only after force is properly accumulated and directed. In Zhou Dynasty statecraft, this hexagram appeared when rulers needed to harness military might, channel economic resources, or cultivate talented officials over years before deployment. The horses represent strength in training—the market itself a liminal space where raw power transitions toward purposeful service. Bonheur painted during France's Second Empire, when industrial energy was reshaping European society; her horses embody that transitional tension between nature and civilization. The Image Text advises: "The superior person acquaints himself with many sayings of antiquity and many deeds of the past in order to strengthen his character." Accumulation applies to learning as to livestock—traditional wisdom gradually internalized until it shapes response. The handlers in Bonheur's painting carry accumulated generations of equestrian knowledge in their bodies. In the I-Ching's sequence, Great Accumulating Force follows Innocence: after natural correctness (25) comes the patient gathering and directing of great energies (26). The horses, massive and turbulent, await the crossing of great waters—but not yet. First, the taming.

Upper Trigram

☶

艮 Gèn

Mountain — Stillness

ElementEarthDirectionNortheastFamilyYoungest SonQualitiesstill, stopping, resting

Lower Trigram

☰

乾 Qián

Heaven — Creative

ElementMetalDirectionSouthFamilyFatherQualitiescreative, strong, dynamic

Classical Texts

The Judgment

Staying the course is beneficial. Not eating at home brings good fortune—take public responsibility rather than private comfort. Major undertakings can succeed. This is a time of gathering strength, storing energy, and building reserves for the work ahead.

The Lines

Line 1

Danger ahead. Better to stop here. You want to advance but the situation blocks you. Forcing through leads to misfortune. Patience now; energy builds for later.

Line 2

The axles are removed from the wagon. Forward movement stops entirely. This isn't defeat—it's strategic pause. Accumulated energy serves you when release finally comes.

Line 3

A good horse follows another good horse. Danger remains, but the path opens. Practice what advances you and what protects you. Have a destination in mind. Movement with purpose, not aimless galloping.

Line 4

The young bull's headboard. Attach the restraint before the horns grow. Preventing problems is easier than fixing them. Great success comes from this kind of foresight.

Line 5

The gelded boar's tusk. The danger is neutralized at its source. Don't fight wild force directly; change the nature that produces it. Good fortune.

Line 6

The way of heaven is attained. The obstruction ends. Energy stored through discipline now flows freely. Your principles shape the world because you earned that authority through restraint.

Yilin: Forest of Changes

From Jiao Yanshou's Forest of Changes (焦氏易林) — the verse for Hexagram 26 in its unchanging form. A Han dynasty collection of four-character verses interpreting every hexagram transformation.

Yilin artwork for Hexagram 26
朝鮮之地，箕伯所保。宜人宜家，業處子孫，求事大喜。

The land of Joseon, kept safe by Lord Jizi. Fit for people, fit for families; the enterprise is passed to sons and grandsons. In all undertakings, great joy.

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Great Taming doubled upon itself — heaven stored within the mountain, undiluted and self-referencing. The land of Joseon, which the Viscount of Ji protected and preserved. Suitable for person and family alike, a legacy handed down through the generations; all undertakings bring great joy. The Viscount of Ji (Jizi), uncle of the Shang tyrant, feigned madness to survive the court's depravity. After Shang fell, he was enfeoffed at Joseon, where he established a civilized state. This is Great Taming at its purest: the sage who stored virtue within himself during a period of darkness, then carried that accumulated wisdom to a new land and built something lasting. The static hexagram shows accumulation fulfilled across generations.

中文注释

天在山中，大畜自變。朝鮮之地，箕伯所保——朝鮮為箕子封國。箕子乃紂之叔父，殷末三仁之一。佯狂避禍，周滅商後封於朝鮮，以殷禮化其民。宜人宜家——利人利家。業處子孫——事業傳於後代。求事大喜——所求皆成。此為大畜本卦自變：「君子以多識前言往行，以畜其德。」箕子正合此旨——蓄德以待，暗世中全身，而後以所蓄之學行化一方。蓄之極致在於世代傳承，生生不息。

Transformations

Hexagram 26 transforming into each of the 64 hexagrams, with Yilin verses.

䷀1䷁2䷂3䷃4䷄5䷅6䷆7䷇8䷈9䷉10䷊11䷋12䷌13䷍14䷎15䷏16䷐17䷑18䷒19䷓20䷔21䷕22䷖23䷗24䷘25䷙26䷚27䷛28䷜29䷝30䷞31䷟32䷠33䷡34䷢35䷣36䷤37䷥38䷦39䷧40䷨41䷩42䷪43䷫44䷬45䷭46䷮47䷯48䷰49䷱50䷲51䷳52䷴53䷵54䷶55䷷56䷸57䷹58䷺59䷻60䷼61䷽62䷾63䷿64

Related Hexagrams

Same upper trigram: Mountain (艮)

䷃蒙Youthful Folly䷑蠱Work on the Decayed䷕賁Grace䷚頤Nourishment䷨損Decrease䷳艮Keeping Still Mountain䷷旅The Wanderer䷽小過Small Exceeding

Same lower trigram: Heaven (乾)

䷀乾The Creative䷄需Waiting䷈小畜Small Taming䷊泰Peace䷍大有Great Possession䷡大壯Great Power䷪夬Breakthrough
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