Exact classical source
天在山中，大畜。君子以多识前贤往行，以畜其德。
Yarrow editorial translation. Heaven within the mountain: Great Accumulation. Thus the noble person learns widely from the words and deeds of those before, accumulating virtue.
Yarrow / Source Notes / 2026-07-17
Yarrow Image-to-Action note · 2026-07-17
Study Three Precedents Before a Consequential Choice
Read Hexagram 26 Da Xu as judgment accumulated through remembered precedent, then study three relevant cases without letting history decide automatically.
䷙
Hexagram 26 · Da Xu · Great Taming
This page studies a supplied Xiang image. It does not claim this hexagram was cast for the modern scene.
Source image
The mountain contains a sky larger than any single view, suggesting that judgment can hold more than the present moment.
Concrete tension
A consequential choice is being made from immediate instinct while earlier cases that could sharpen the judgment remain unopened.
Visible modern action
Select three relevant prior cases and make a table with three columns: PATTERN, DIFFERENCE, and STILL UNKNOWN. Write one line in every column before choosing the next reversible step.
Why this action comes from this source
The source accumulates the remembered conduct of earlier people in order to build present character. The three-case table stores precedent while forcing differences and unknowns to remain visible, so history informs rather than replaces judgment.
Reflection question
Which three precedents should inform this choice without deciding it for you?
Audience value
Informative: it converts learning from former conduct into a precise precedent table that also guards against false analogy.
Source boundary
The Chinese quotation is checked against Yarrow's bundled Yang Tiancai and Zhang Shanwen source text. Where that OCR witness substitutes a character, the page discloses the raw reading and checks the correction against a second classical witness. The English translation, objects, tension, and action are modern Yarrow editorial work. This is not a fresh cast, prediction, or promised outcome.