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"The Book of Changes" redirects here. For other uses, seeThe Book of Changes (disambiguation).For other uses of "I Ching" or "Yijing", seeI Ching (disambiguation)andYijing (disambiguation).

I Ching
Title page of aSong dynasty(c. 1100) edition of theI Ching
Original titleDễ
LanguageOld Chinese
SubjectDivination,cosmology
PublishedLate 9th century BC
Publication placeChina
Original text
Dễat ChineseWikisource
I Ching
"I (Ching)"inseal script(top),[note 1]traditional (middle), and simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Chinese name
Traditional ChineseDịch Kinh
Simplified ChineseDịch Kinh
Hanyu PinyinYì Jīng
Literal meaning"Classic of Changes"
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese Alpha betKinh Dịch
Chữ HánKinh dễ
Korean name
Hangul역경
HanjaDịch Kinh
Japanese name
KanjiDễ kinh
Hiraganaえききょう

TheI ChingorYijing(Chinese:Dịch Kinh,Mandarin:[î tɕíŋ]ⓘ), usually translatedBook of ChangesorClassic of Changes,is an ancient Chinesedivinationtext that is among the oldest of theChinese classics.TheI Chingwas originally a divination manual in theWestern Zhouperiod (1000–750 BC). Over the course of theWarring Statesand early imperial periods (500–200 BC), it transformed into acosmologicaltext with a series of philosophical commentaries known as theTen Wings.[1]After becoming part of the ChineseFive Classicsin the 2nd century BC, theI Chingwas the basis for divination practice for centuries across the Far East and was the subject of scholarly commentary. Between the 18th and 20th centuries, it took on an influential role in Western understanding of East Asian philosophical thought.[2]

As a divination text, theI Chingis used for a Chinese form ofcleromancyknown asI Chingdivinationin which bundles ofyarrow stalksare manipulated to produce sets of six apparently random numbers ranging from 6 to 9. Each of the 64 possible sets corresponds to ahexagram,which can be looked up in theI Ching.The hexagrams are arranged in an order known as theKing Wen sequence.The interpretation of the readings found in theI Chinghas been discussed and debated over the centuries. Many commentators have used the book symbolically, often to provide guidance for moral decision-making, as informed byConfucianism,TaoismandBuddhism.The hexagrams themselves have often acquired cosmological significance and been paralleled with many other traditional names for the processes of change such asyin and yangandWu Xing.

The divination text:Zhou Yi[edit]

History[edit]

The core of theI Chingis aWestern Zhoudivination text called theChanges of Zhou(Chinese:Chu Dịch;pinyin:Zhōu yì).[3]Modern scholars suggest dates ranging between the 10th and 4th centuries BC for the assembly of the text in approximately its current form.[4]Based on a comparison of the language of theZhou yiwith datedbronze inscriptions,the American sinologistEdward Shaughnessydated its compilation in its current form to the last quarter of the 9th century BC, during the early decades of the reign ofKing Xuan of Zhou(r. c. 827– 782BC).[5]A copy of the text in theShanghai Museumcorpus ofbamboo and wooden slipsdiscovered in 1994 shows that theZhou yiwas used throughout all levels of Chinese society in its current form by 300 BC, but still contained small variations as late as theWarring States period(c. 475– 221 BC).[6]It is possible that other divination systems existed at this time; theRites of Zhouname two other such systems, theLianshan[zh]and theGuicang.[7]

Name and authorship[edit]

The nameZhou yiliterally means the 'changes' (Dễ;yì) of theZhou dynasty.The 'changes' involved have been interpreted as the transformations of hexagrams, of their lines, or of the numbers obtained from the divination.[8]Feng Youlanproposed that the word for 'changes' originally meant 'easy', as in a form of divination easier than theoracle bones,but there is little evidence for this. There is also an ancientfolk etymologythat sees the character for 'changes' as containing the sun and moon, the cycle of the day. Modern sinologists believe the character to be derived either from an image of the sun emerging from clouds, or from the content of a vessel being changed into another.[9]

TheZhou yiwas traditionally ascribed to the Zhou cultural heroesKing Wen of Zhouand theDuke of Zhou,and was also associated with the legendary world rulerFuxi.[10]According to the canonicalGreat Commentary,Fuxi observed the patterns of the world and created theeight trigrams(Bát quái;bāguà), "in order to become thoroughly conversant with the numinous and bright and to classify the myriad things". TheZhou yiitself does not contain this legend and indeed says nothing about its own origins.[11]TheRites of Zhou,however, also claims that the hexagrams of theZhou yiwere derived from an initial set of eight trigrams.[12]During the Han dynasty there were various opinions about the historical relationship between the trigrams and the hexagrams.[13]Eventually, a consensus formed around 2nd-century AD scholarMa Rong's attribution of the text to the joint work of Fuxi, King Wen of Zhou, the Duke of Zhou, andConfucius,but this traditional attribution is no longer generally accepted.[14]

Another tradition about theI Chingwas that most of it was written byTang of Shang.[15]

Structure[edit]

A turtle shell inscribed with primitive Chinese characters
Oracle turtle shell featuring the ancient form () ofzhēn(Trinh) 'to divine'

The basic unit of theZhou yiis thehexagram(Quẻguà), a figure composed of six stacked horizontal lines (Hàoyáo). Each line is either broken or unbroken. The received text of theZhou yicontains all 64 possible hexagrams, along with the hexagram's name (Quẻ danhguàmíng), a short hexagram statement (Thoántuàn),[note 2]and six line statements (Hào từyáocí).[note 3]The statements were used to determine the results of divination, but the reasons for having two different methods of reading the hexagram are not known, and it is not known why hexagram statements would be read over line statements or vice versa.[16]

The book opens with the first hexagram statement,yuán hēng lì zhēn(Nguyên hanh lợi trinh). These four words are often repeated in the hexagram statements and were already considered an important part ofI Chinginterpretation in the 6th century BC. Edward Shaughnessy describes this statement as affirming an "initial receipt" of an offering, "beneficial" for further "divining".[17] The wordzhēn(Trinh,ancient form) was also used for the verb 'divine' in theoracle bonesof the lateShang dynasty,which preceded the Zhou. It also carried meanings of being or making upright or correct, and was defined by the Eastern Han scholarZheng Xuanas "to enquire into the correctness" of a proposed activity.[18]

The names of the hexagrams are usually words that appear in their respective line statements, but in five cases (2, 9, 26, 61, and 63) an unrelated character of unclear purpose appears. The hexagram names could have been chosen arbitrarily from the line statements,[19]but it is also possible that the line statements were derived from the hexagram names.[20]The line statements, which make up most of the book, are exceedingly cryptic. Each line begins with a word indicating the line number, "base, 2, 3, 4, 5, top", and either the number 6 for a broken line, or the number 9 for a whole line. Hexagrams 1 and 2 have an extra line statement, namedyong.[21]Following the line number, the line statements may make oracular or prognostic statements.[22]Some line statements also contain poetry or references to historical events.[23]

Usage[edit]

Main article:I Ching divination
A bundle of thin sticks
Fifty yarrow (Achillea millefolium) stalks used forI Chingdivination

Archaeological evidence shows that Zhou dynasty divination was grounded incleromancy,the production of seemingly random numbers to determine divine intent.[24]TheZhou yiprovided a guide to cleromancy that used the stalks of theyarrow plant,but it is not known how the yarrow stalks became numbers, or how specific lines were chosen from the line readings.[25]In the hexagrams, broken lines were used as shorthand for the numbers 6 (Sáu) and 8 (Tám), and solid lines were shorthand for values of 7 (Bảy) and 9 (Chín). TheGreat Commentarycontains a late classic description of a process where various numerological operations are performed on a bundle of 50 stalks, leaving remainders of 6 to 9.[26]Like theZhou yiitself, yarrow stalk divination dates to the Western Zhou period, although its modern form is a reconstruction.[27]

The ancient narrativesZuo ZhuanandGuoyucontain the oldest descriptions of divination using theZhou yi.The two histories describe more than twenty successful divinations conducted by professional soothsayers for royal families between 671 and 487 BC. The method of divination is not explained, and none of the stories employ predetermined commentaries, patterns, or interpretations. Only the hexagrams and line statements are used.[28]By the 4th century BC, the authority of theZhou yiwas also cited for rhetorical purposes, without relation to any stated divination.[29]TheZuo Zhuandoes not contain records of private individuals, butQin dynastyrecords found atShuihudishow that the hexagrams were privately consulted to answer questions such as business, health, children, and determining lucky days.[30]

The most common form of divination with theI Chingin use today is a reconstruction of the method described in these histories, in the 300 BCGreat Commentary,and later in theHuainanziand theLunheng.From theGreat Commentary's description, the Neo-ConfucianZhu Xireconstructed a method of yarrow stalk divination that is still used throughout the Far East. In the modern period,Gao Hengattempted his own reconstruction, which varies from Zhu Xi in places.[31]Another divination method,employing coins, became widely used in the Tang dynasty and is still used today. In the modern period; alternative methods such as specializeddiceandcartomancyhave also appeared.[32]

In theZuo Zhuanstories, individual lines of hexagrams are denoted by using the genitive particlezhi(Chi), followed by the name of another hexagram where that specific line had another form. In later attempts to reconstruct ancient divination methods, the wordzhiwas interpreted as a verb meaning 'moving to', an apparent indication that hexagrams could be transformed into other hexagrams. However, there are no instances of "changeable lines" in theZuo Zhuan.In all 12 out of 12 line statements quoted, the original hexagrams are used to produce the oracle.[33]

The classic:I Ching[edit]

In 136 BC,Emperor Wu of Hannamed theZhou yi"the first among the classics", dubbing it theClassic of ChangesorI Ching.Emperor Wu's placement of theI Chingamong theFive Classicswas informed by a broad span of cultural influences that includedConfucianism,Taoism,Legalism,yin-yang cosmology,and Wu Xing physical theory.[34]While theZhou yidoes not contain any cosmological analogies, theI Chingwas read as a microcosm of the universe that offered complex, symbolic correspondences.[35]The official edition of the text was literally set in stone, as one of theXiping Stone Classics.[36]The canonizedI Chingbecame the standard text for over two thousand years, until alternate versions of theZhou yiand related texts were discovered in the 20th century.[37]

Ten Wings[edit]

Main article:Ten Wings

Part of the canonization of theZhou yibound it to a set of ten commentaries called theTen Wings.The Ten Wings are of a much later provenance than theZhou yi,and are the production of a different society. TheZhou yiwas written in EarlyOld Chinese,while the Ten Wings were written in a predecessor toMiddle Chinese.[38]The specific origins of the Ten Wings are still a complete mystery to academics.[39]Regardless of their historical relation to the text, the philosophical depth of the Ten Wings made theI Chinga perfect fit to Han period Confucian scholarship.[40]The inclusion of the Ten Wings reflects a widespread recognition in ancient China, found in theZuo zhuanand other pre-Han texts, that theI Chingwas a rich moral and symbolic document useful for more than professional divination.[41]

Arguably the most important of the Ten Wings is theGreat Commentary(Dazhuan) orXi ci,which dates to roughly 300 BC.[note 4]TheGreat Commentarydescribes theI Chingas a microcosm of the universe and a symbolic description of the processes of change. By partaking in the spiritual experience of theI Ching,theGreat Commentarystates, the individual can understand the deeper patterns of the universe.[26]Among other subjects, it explains how the eight trigrams proceeded from the eternal oneness of the universe through threebifurcations.[42]The other Wings provide different perspectives on essentially the same viewpoint, giving ancient, cosmic authority to theI Ching.[43]For example, theWenyanprovides a moral interpretation that parallels the first two hexagrams,Càn(qián) andKhôn(kūn), withHeavenand Earth,[44]and theShuoguaattributes to the symbolic function of the hexagrams the ability to understand self, world, and destiny.[45]Throughout the Ten Wings, there are passages that seem to purposefully increase the ambiguity of the base text, pointing to a recognition of multiple layers of symbolism.[46]

TheGreat Commentaryassociates knowledge of theI Chingwith the ability to "delight in Heaven and understand fate;" the sage who reads it will see cosmological patterns and not despair in mere material difficulties.[47]The Japanese word for 'metaphysics',keijijōgaku(Hình nhi thượng học) is derived from a statement found in theGreat Commentarythat "what is above form [xíng ér shàng] is calledTao;what is under form is called a tool ".[48]The word has also been borrowed into Korean and re-borrowed back into Chinese.

The Ten Wings were traditionally attributed toConfucius,possibly based on a misreading of theRecords of the Grand Historian.[49]Although it rested on historically shaky grounds, the association of theI Chingwith Confucius gave weight to the text and was taken as an article of faith throughout the Han and Tang dynasties.[50]TheI Chingwas not included in theburning of the Confucian classics,and textual evidence strongly suggests that Confucius did not consider theZhou yia "classic". An ancient commentary on theZhou yifound at Mawangdui portrays Confucius as endorsing it as a source of wisdom first and an imperfect divination text second.[51]However, since the Ten Wings became canonized by Emperor Wu of Han together with the original I Ching as the Zhou Yi, it can be attributed to the positions of influence from the Confucians in the government.[52]Furthermore, the Ten Wings tends to use diction and phrases such as "the master said", which was previously commonly seen in theAnalects,thereby implying the heavy involvement of Confucians in its creation as well as institutionalization.[52]

Hexagrams[edit]

Main article:Hexagram (I Ching)
For a more comprehensive list, seeList of hexagrams of the I Ching.

In the canonicalI Ching,the hexagrams are arranged in an order dubbed theKing Wen sequenceafter King Wen of Zhou, who founded the Zhou dynasty and supposedly reformed the method of interpretation. The sequence generally pairs hexagrams with their upside-down equivalents, although in eight cases hexagrams are paired with their inversion.[53]Another order, found atMawangduiin 1973, arranges the hexagrams into eight groups sharing the same upper trigram. But the oldest known manuscript, found in 1987 and now held by the Shanghai Library, was almost certainly arranged in the King Wen sequence, and it has even been proposed that a pottery paddle from the Western Zhou period contains four hexagrams in the King Wen sequence.[54]Whichever of these arrangements is older, it is not evident that the order of the hexagrams was of interest to the original authors of theZhou yi.The assignment of numbers, binary or decimal, to specific hexagrams, is a modern invention.[55]

Yin and yang are represented by broken and solid lines: yin is broken (⚋) and yang is solid (⚊). Different constructions of three yin and yang lines lead to eight trigrams ( bát quái ) namely, Qian ( càn, ☰), Dui ( đoái, ☱), Li ( ly, ☲), Zhen ( chấn, ☳), Xun ( tốn, ☴), Kan ( khảm, ☵), Gen ( cấn, ☶), and Kun ( khôn, ☷).

The different combinations of the two trigrams lead to 64 hexagrams.

The following table numbers the hexagrams in King Wen order.

1

Càn (qián) 		2

Khôn (kūn) 		3

Truân (zhūn) 		4

Mông (méng) 		5

Cần (xū) 		6

Tụng (sòng) 		7

Sư (shī) 		8

So (bǐ)
9

Tiểu súc (xiǎo xù) 		10

Lí (lǚ) 		11

Thái (tài) 		12

Không (pǐ) 		13

Đồng nghiệp (tóng rén) 		14

Rất có (dà yǒu) 		15

Khiêm (qiān) 		16

Dự (yù)
17

Tùy (suí) 		18

Cổ (gŭ) 		19

Lâm (lín) 		20

Xem (guān) 		21

Phệ cắn (shì kè) 		22

Bí (bì) 		23

Lột (bō) 		24

Phục (fù)
25

Vô vọng (wú wàng) 		26

Đại súc (dà xù) 		27

Di (yí) 		28

Lớn hơn (dà guò) 		29

Khảm (kǎn) 		30

Ly (lí) 		31

Hàm (xián) 		32

Hằng (héng)
33

Độn (dùn) 		34

Đại tráng (dà zhuàng) 		35

Tấn (jìn) 		36

Minh di (míng yí) 		37

Người nhà (jiā rén) 		38

Khuê (kuí) 		39

Kiển (jiǎn) 		40

Giải (xiè)
41

Tổn hại (sǔn) 		42

Ích (yì) 		43

Quái (guài) 		44

Cấu (gòu) 		45

Tụy (cuì) 		46

Thăng (shēng) 		47

Vây (kùn) 		48

Giếng (jǐng)
49

Cách (gé) 		50

Đỉnh (dǐng) 		51

Chấn (zhèn) 		52

Cấn (gèn) 		53

Tiệm (jiàn) 		54

Về muội (guī mèi) 		55

Phong (fēng) 		56

Lữ (lǚ)
57

Tốn (xùn) 		58

Đoái (duì) 		59

Hoán (huàn) 		60

Tiết (jié) 		61

Trung phu (zhōng fú) 		62

Tiểu quá (xiǎo guò) 		63

Đã tế (jì jì) 		64

Chưa tế (wèi jì)

Interpretation and influence[edit]

See also:Influence of theI Ching

The sinologistMichael Nylandescribes theI Chingas the best-known Chinese book in the world.[56]Eliot Weinbergerwrote that it is the most "recognized" Chinese book.[57]In East Asia, it is a foundational text for the Confucian and Daoist philosophical traditions, while in the West, it attracted the attention of Enlightenment intellectuals and prominent literary and cultural figures.

Eastern Han and Six Dynasties[edit]

During theEastern Han,I Chinginterpretation divided into two schools, originating in a dispute over minor differences between different editions of the received text.[58]The first school, known as New Text criticism, was more egalitarian and eclectic, and sought to find symbolic and numerological parallels between the natural world and the hexagrams. Their commentaries provided the basis of theSchool of Images and Numbers.The other school, Old Text criticism, was more scholarly and hierarchical, and focused on the moral content of the text, providing the basis for the School of Meanings and Principles.[59]The New Text scholars distributed alternate versions of the text and freely integrated non-canonical commentaries into their work, as well as propagating alternate systems of divination such as theTaixuanjing.[60]Most of this early commentary, such as the image and number work ofJing Fang,Yu FanandXun Shuang,is no longer extant.[61]Only short fragments survive, from a Tang dynasty text calledZhou yi jijie.[62]

With the fall of the Han,I Chingscholarship was no longer organized into systematic schools. The most influential writer of this period wasWang Bi,who discarded the numerology of Han commentators and integrated the philosophy of the Ten Wings directly into the central text of theI Ching,creating such a persuasive narrative that Han commentators were no longer considered significant. A century laterHan Kangboadded commentaries on the Ten Wings to Wang Bi's book, creating a text called theZhouyi zhu.The principal rival interpretation was a practical text on divination by the soothsayerGuan Lu.[63]

Tang and Song dynasties[edit]

At the beginning of theTang dynasty,Emperor Taizong of TangorderedKong Yingdato create a canonical edition of theI Ching.ChoosingWang Bi's 3rd-centuryAnnotated Book of Changes(Zhōuyì zhù;Chu Dịch chú) as the official commentary, he added to it further commentary drawing out the subtler details of Wang Bi's explanations. The resultingRight Meaning of the Book of Changes(Zhōuyì zhèngyì;Chu Dịch chính nghĩa) became the standard edition of theI Chingthrough theSong dynasty.[64]

By the 11th century, theI Chingwas being read as a work of intricate philosophy, as a jumping-off point for examining great metaphysical questions and ethical issues.[65]Cheng Yi,patriarch of the Neo-ConfucianCheng–Zhu school,read theI Chingas a guide to moral perfection. He described the text as a way to for ministers to form honest political factions, root out corruption, and solve problems in government.[66]

The contemporary scholarShao Yongrearranged the hexagrams in a format that resembles modernbinary numbers,although he did not intend his arrangement to be used mathematically.[67]This arrangement, sometimes called thebinary sequence,later inspiredGottfried Leibniz.

A yellowed bamboo page with the eight trigrams from I Ching stamped by wood block in black ink
Wood block printed page ofZhou Yi Zhuan Yi Da Quandepicting the eight trigrams

Neo-Confucianism[edit]

The 12th century Neo-Confucian Zhu Xi, co-founder of the Cheng–Zhu school, criticized both of the Han dynasty lines of commentary on theI Ching,saying that they were one-sided. He developed a synthesis of the two, arguing that the text was primarily a work of divination that could be used in the process of moral self-cultivation, or what the ancients called "rectification of the mind" in theGreat Learning.Zhu Xi's reconstruction ofI Ching yarrow stalk divination,based in part on theGreat Commentaryaccount, became the standard form and is still in use today.[68]

As China entered the early modern period, theI Chingtook on renewed relevance in both Confucian and Daoist studies. TheKangxi Emperorwas especially fond of theI Chingand ordered new interpretations of it.[69]Qing dynastyscholars focused more intently on understanding pre-classical grammar, assisting the development of new philological approaches in the modern period.[70]

East Asia[edit]

Like the other Chinese classics, theI Chingwas an influential text across East Asia. In 1557, the Korean Neo-Confucianist philosopherYi Hwangproduced one of the most influentialI Chingstudies of the early modern era, claiming that the spirit was a principle (li) and not a material force (qi). Hwang accused the Neo-Confucian school of having misread Zhu Xi. His critique proved influential not only in Korea but also in Japan.[71]Other than this contribution, theI Ching—known in Korean as theYeok Gyeong(역경)—was not central to the development of Korean Confucianism, and by the 19th century,I Chingstudies were integrated into thesilhakreform movement.[72]

In medieval Japan, secret teachings on theI Ching—known in Japanese as theEki Kyō(Dễ kinh)—were publicized byRinzai ZenmasterKokan Shirenand the ShintoistYoshida Kanetomoduring the Kamakura era.[73]I Chingstudies in Japan took on new importance during theEdo period,during which over 1,000 books were published on the subject by over 400 authors. The majority of these books were serious works of philology, reconstructing ancient usages and commentaries for practical purposes. A sizable minority focused on numerology, symbolism, and divination.[74]During this time, over 150 editions of earlier Chinese commentaries were reprinted across Edo Japan, including several texts that had become lost in China.[75]In the early Edo period, Japanese writers such asItō Jinsai,Kumazawa Banzan,andNakae Tōjuranked theI Chingthe greatest of the Confucian classics.[76]Many writers attempted to use theI Chingto explainWestern science in a Japanese framework.One writer,Shizuki Tadao,even attempted to employNewton's laws of motionand theCopernican principlewithin anI Chingcosmology.[77]This line of argument was later taken up in China by the Qing politicianZhang Zhidong.[78]

Enlightenment Europe[edit]

A circular diagram of I Ching hexagrams
A diagram ofI Chinghexagrams sent toGottfried Wilhelm LeibnizfromJoachim Bouvet.The Arabic numerals were added by Leibniz.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz,who was corresponding withJesuits in China,wrote the first European commentary on theI Chingin 1703. He argued that it proved the universality ofbinary numbersandtheism,since the broken lines, the "0" or "nothingness", cannot become solid lines, the "1" or "oneness", without the intervention ofGod.[79]This was criticized byGeorg Friedrich Hegel,who proclaimed that binary system andChinese characterswere "empty forms" that could not articulate spoken words with the clarity of the WesternAlpha bet.[80]In their commentary,I Chinghexagrams and Chinese characters were conflated into a single foreign idea, sparking a dialogue on Western philosophical questions such as universality and the nature of communication. The usage of binary in relation to the I Ching was central to Leibniz'scharacteristica universalis,or 'universal language', which in turn inspired the standards ofBoolean logicand forGottlob Fregeto developpredicate logicin the late 19th century. In the 20th century,Jacques Derridaidentified Hegel's argument aslogocentric,but accepted without question Hegel's premise that the Chinese language cannot express philosophical ideas.[81]

Modern[edit]

After the1911 Revolution,theI Chinglost its significance in political philosophy, but it maintained cultural influence as one of China's most ancient texts. Chinese writers offered parallels between theI Chingand subjects such aslinear algebraandlogic in computer science,aiming to demonstrate that ancient Chinese cosmology had anticipated Western discoveries.[82]The sinologistJoseph Needhamtook the opposite opinion, arguing that theI Chinghad actually impeded scientific development by incorporating all physical knowledge into its metaphysics. However, with the advent ofquantum mechanics,physicistNiels Bohrcredited the yin and yang symbolism for providing inspiration of hisinterpretationof the new field, which disproved principles from older Western classical mechanics. Theprinciple of complementarityheavily used concepts from the I Ching as mentioned in his writings.[83]The psychologistCarl Jungtook interest in the possible universal nature of the imagery of theI Ching,and he introduced an influential German translation byRichard Wilhelmby discussing his theories ofarchetypesandsynchronicity.[84]Jung wrote, "Even to the most biased eye, it is obvious that this book represents one long admonition to careful scrutiny of one's own character, attitude, and motives."[85]The book had a notable impact on the1960s countercultureand on 20th century cultural figures such asPhilip K. Dick,John Cage,Jorge Luis Borges,Terence McKennaandHermann Hesse.Joni Mitchellreferences the six yang hexagram in "Amelia", a song on the albumHejira,where she describes the image of "...six jet planes leaving six white vapor trails across the bleak terrain...".[86]It also inspired the 1968 song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"byThe Beatles.

The modern period also brought a new level of skepticism and rigor toI Chingscholarship.Li Jingchispent several decades producing a new interpretation of the text, which was published posthumously in 1978. Modern data scientists including Alex Liu proposed to represent and develop I Ching methods with data science 4E framework andlatent variableapproaches for a more rigorous representation and interpretation of I Ching.[87][undue weight?–discuss]Gao Heng,an expert in pre-Qin China, re-investigated its use as a Zhou dynasty oracle. Edward Shaughnessy proposed a new dating for the various strata of the text.[88]New archaeological discoveries have enabled a deeper level of insight into how the text was used in the centuries before the Qin dynasty. Proponents of newly reconstructed Western Zhou readings, which often differ greatly from traditional readings of the text, are sometimes called the "modernist school".[89]

Translations[edit]

Part ofa serieson
Taoism
Tao
Concepts
Daoxue
Practices
Texts
Deities
Three Pure Ones
Four Sovereigns
Others
People
Schools
Tianshi (Celestial Masters)
Folk Taoism
Sacred places
Institutions and organizations

TheI Chinghas been translated into Western languages dozens of times. The earliest published complete translation of theI Chinginto a Western language was a Latin translation done in the 1730s by the French Jesuit missionaryJean-Baptiste Régisand his companions that was published in Germany in the 1830s.[90][91]

Historically, the most influential Western-languageI Chingtranslation wasRichard Wilhelm's 1923 German translation, which was translated into English in 1950 byCary Baynes.[92]AlthoughThomas McClatchieandJames Leggehad both translated the text into English already in the 19th century, whilePaul-Louis-Félix PhilastreandCharles de Harlezhad both translated it in the same period into French, the text gained significant traction during the counterculture of the 1960s, with the translations of Wilhelm andJohn Blofeldattracting particular interest.[93]Richard Rutt's 1996 translation incorporated much of the new archaeological and philological discoveries of the 20th century.[94]

The most commonly used English translations of theI Chingare:[90]

  • Legge, James (1882).The Yî King.InSacred Books of the East,vol. XVI.2nd edition (1899), Oxford: Clarendon Press; reprinted numerous times.
  • Wilhelm, Richard(1924, 1950).The I Ching or Book of Changes.Cary Baynes, trans. Bollingen Series19.Introduction by Carl G. Jung. New York: Pantheon Books. 3rd edition (1967), Princeton:Princeton University Press;reprinted numerous times.

Other notable English translations include:

  • McClatchie, Thomas (1876).A Translation of the Confucian Yi-king.Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press.
  • Blofeld, John(1965).The Book of Changes: A New Translation of the Ancient Chinese I Ching.New York: E. P. Dutton.
  • Cleary, Thomas (1992).I Ching: The Book of Change.Boston, MA: Shambhala.ISBN0-877-73661-8.
  • Lynn, Richard John (1994).The Classic of Changes.New York: Columbia University Press.ISBN0-231-08294-0.
  • Rutt, Richard(1996).The Book of Changes (Zhouyi): A Bronze Age Document.Richmond: Curzon.ISBN0-700-70467-1.
  • Shaughnessy, Edward L. (1996).I Ching: The Classic of Changes.New York: Ballantine.ISBN0-345-36243-8.
  • Hinton, David(2015).I Ching: The Book of Change.Farrar, Straus & Giroux.ISBN978-0-374-22090-7.
  • Redmond, Geoffrey (2017).The I Ching (Book of Changes): A Critical Translation of the Ancient Text.London: Bloomsbury.ISBN978-1-472-51413-4.
  • Adler, Joseph A. (2020).The Original Meaning of the Yijing: Commentary on the Scripture of Change [by Zhu Xi].New York: Columbia University Press.ISBN978-0-231-19124-1.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^abThe*k-lˤeng(jingKinh,"classic" ) appellation was not used until after theHan dynasty,after the coreOld Chineseperiod.
  2. ^The wordtuàn(Thoán) refers to a four-legged animal similar to a pig. This is believed to be a gloss for 'decision',duàn(Đoạn). The modern word for a hexagram statement isguàcí(Quái từ).Knechtges (2014),p. 1881
  3. ^Referred to asyao(Diêu) in theZuo Zhuan.Nielsen (2003),pp. 24, 290
  4. ^The received text was rearranged byZhu Xi.(Nielsen 2003,p. 258)

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^Kern (2010),p. 17.
  2. ^Redmond (2021);Adler (2022),chs. 1, 6, 7.
  3. ^Smith (2012),p. 22;Nelson (2011),p. 377;Hon (2005),p. 2;Shaughnessy (1983),p. 105;Raphals (2013),p. 337;Nylan (2001),p. 220;Redmond & Hon (2014),p. 37;Rutt (1996),p. 26.
  4. ^Nylan (2001),p. 218.
  5. ^Shaughnessy (1983),p. 219;Rutt (1996),pp. 32–33;Smith (2012),p. 22;Knechtges (2014),p. 1885.
  6. ^Shaughnessy (2014),p. 282;Smith (2012),p. 22.
  7. ^Rutt (1996),pp. 26–27;Redmond & Hon (2014),pp. 106–109;Shchutskii (1979),p. 98.
  8. ^Knechtges (2014),p. 1877.
  9. ^Shaughnessy (1983),p. 106;Schuessler (2007),p. 566;Nylan (2001),pp. 229–230.
  10. ^Shaughnessy (1999),p. 295.
  11. ^Redmond & Hon (2014),pp. 54–55.
  12. ^Shaughnessy (2014),p. 144.
  13. ^Nielsen (2003),p. 7.
  14. ^Nielsen (2003),p. 249;Shchutskii (1979),p. 133.
  15. ^Bauer, Susan Wise(2007).The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome.New York:W. W. Norton.p. 300.ISBN978-0-393-05974-8.
  16. ^Rutt (1996),pp. 122–125.
  17. ^Rutt (1996),pp. 126, 187–178;Shchutskii (1979),pp. 65–66;Shaughnessy (2014),pp. 30–35;Redmond & Hon (2014),p. 128.
  18. ^Shaughnessy (2014),pp. 2–3.
  19. ^Rutt (1996),p. 118;Shaughnessy (1983),p. 123.
  20. ^Knechtges (2014),p. 1879.
  21. ^Rutt (1996),pp. 129–130.
  22. ^Rutt (1996),p. 131.
  23. ^Knechtges (2014),pp. 1880–1881.
  24. ^Shaughnessy (2014),p. 14.
  25. ^Smith (2012),p. 39.
  26. ^abSmith (2008),p. 27.
  27. ^Raphals (2013),p. 129.
  28. ^Rutt (1996),p. 173.
  29. ^Smith (2012),p. 43;Raphals (2013),p. 336.
  30. ^Raphals (2013),pp. 203–212.
  31. ^Smith (2008),p. 27;Raphals (2013),p. 167.
  32. ^Redmond & Hon (2014),p. 257.
  33. ^Shaughnessy (1983),p. 97;Rutt (1996),pp. 154–155;Smith (2008),p. 26.
  34. ^Smith (2008),pp. 31–32.
  35. ^Raphals (2013),p. 337.
  36. ^Nielsen (2003),pp. 48–51;Knechtges (2014),p. 1889.
  37. ^Shaughnessy (2014),passim;Smith (2008),pp. 48–50.
  38. ^Rutt (1996),p. 39.
  39. ^Shaughnessy (2014),p. 284;Smith (2008),pp. 31–48.
  40. ^Smith (2012),p. 48.
  41. ^Nylan (2001),p. 229.
  42. ^Nielsen (2003),p. 260.
  43. ^Smith (2008),p. 48.
  44. ^Knechtges (2014),p. 1882.
  45. ^Redmond & Hon (2014),pp. 151–152.
  46. ^Nylan (2001),p. 221.
  47. ^Nylan (2001),pp. 248–249.
  48. ^Yuasa (2008),p. 51.
  49. ^Peterson (1982),p. 73.
  50. ^Smith (2008),p. 27;Nielsen (2003),pp. 138, 211.
  51. ^Shchutskii (1979),p. 213;Smith (2012),p. 46.
  52. ^abAdler, Joseph A. (April 2017)."Zhu Xi's Commentary on the Xicizhuan hệ từ truyền (Treatise on the Appended Remarks) Appendix of the Yijing Dịch Kinh (Scripture of Change)"(PDF).
  53. ^Smith (2008),p. 37.
  54. ^Shaughnessy (2014),pp. 52–53, 16–17.
  55. ^Rutt (1996),pp. 114–118.
  56. ^Nylan (2001),pp. 204–206.
  57. ^Weinberger, Eliot (February 25, 2016)."What Is the I Ching?".The New York Review of Books.In China and in East Asia, it has been by far the most consulted of all books, in the belief that it can explain everything.... is surely the most popularly recognized Chinese book.
  58. ^Smith (2008),p. 58;Nylan (2001),p. 45;Redmond & Hon (2014),p. 159.
  59. ^Smith (2012),pp. 76–78.
  60. ^Smith (2008),pp. 76–79;Knechtges (2014),p. 1889.
  61. ^Smith (2008),pp. 57, 67, 84–86.
  62. ^Knechtges (2014),p. 1891.
  63. ^Smith (2008),pp. 89–90, 98;Hon (2005),pp. 29–30;Knechtges (2014),p. 1890.
  64. ^Hon (2005),pp. 29–33;Knechtges (2014),p. 1891.
  65. ^Hon (2005),p. 144.
  66. ^Smith (2008),p. 128;Redmond & Hon (2014),p. 177.
  67. ^Redmond & Hon (2014),p. 227.
  68. ^Adler (2002),pp. v–xi;Smith (2008),p. 229;Adler (2020),pp. 9–16.
  69. ^Smith (2008),p. 177.
  70. ^Nielsen (2003),p. xvi.
  71. ^Ng (2000b),pp. 55–56.
  72. ^Ng (2000b),p. 65.
  73. ^Ng (2000a),pp. 7, 15.
  74. ^Ng (2000a),pp. 22–25.
  75. ^Ng (2000a),pp. 28–29.
  76. ^Ng (2000a),pp. 38–39.
  77. ^Ng (2000a),pp. 143–145.
  78. ^Smith (2008),p. 197.
  79. ^Nelson (2011),p. 379;Smith (2008),p. 204.
  80. ^Nelson (2011),p. 381.
  81. ^Nelson (2011),p. 383.
  82. ^Smith (2008),p. 205.
  83. ^Redmond & Hon (2014),p. 231.
  84. ^Smith (2008),p. 212;Redmond & Hon (2014),pp. 205–214.
  85. ^Smith (2012),pp. 11, 198.
  86. ^Smith (2012),pp. 11, 197–198.
  87. ^"I Ching Methods Represented with Big Data Science".Retrieved20 May2021.
  88. ^Knechtges (2014),pp. 1884–1885.
  89. ^Redmond & Hon (2014),p. 122ff;Shaughnessy (2014),passim.
  90. ^abShaughnessy (1993),p. 225.
  91. ^The text downloadable form the Münchener DigitalisierungsZentrum:Y-King: antiquissimus Sinarum liber, quem ex Latina interpretatione P. Regis aliorumque ex Soc. Iesu P. P. edidit Julius Mohl,Stuttgartiae et Tubingae: Cotta, liber 1: 1834, XX + 475 S., liber 2: 1839, 588 S. vol. 1,vol. 2
  92. ^Shaughnessy (2014),p. 1;Redmond & Hon (2014),p. 239.
  93. ^Smith (2012),pp. 198–199.
  94. ^Redmond & Hon (2014),pp. 241–243.

Works cited[edit]

  • Adler, Joseph A. (2002).Introduction to the Study of the Classic of Change (I-hsüeh ch'i-meng).Provo, UT: Global Scholarly Publications.ISBN1-592-67334-1.
  • Adler, Joseph A. (2020).The Original Meaning of the Yijing: Commentary on the Scripture of Change.New York: Columbia University Press.ISBN978-0-231-19124-1.
  • Adler, Joseph A. (2022).The Yijing: A Guide.New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-190-07246-9.
  • Hon Tze-ki ( Hàn tử kỳ ) (2005).The Yijing and Chinese Politics: Classical Commentary and Literati Activism in the Northern Song Period, 960–1127.Albany: State University of New York Press.ISBN0-791-46311-7.
  • Kern, Martin (2010). "Early Chinese literature, Beginnings through Western Han". In Owen, Stephen (ed.).The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature, Volume 1: To 1375.Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–115.ISBN978-0-521-11677-0.
  • Knechtges, David R.(2014). "Yi jing"Dịch Kinh[Classic of changes]. In Knechtges, David R.; Chang, Taiping (eds.).Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide.Vol. 3. Leiden: Brill. pp. 1877–1896.ISBN978-90-042-7216-3.
  • Nelson, Eric S. (2011)."The Yijing and Philosophy: From Leibniz to Derrida".Journal of Chinese Philosophy.38(3): 377–396.doi:10.1111/j.1540-6253.2011.01661.x.
  • Ng Wai-ming ( Ngô vĩ minh ) (2000).The I Ching in Tokugawa Thought and Culture.Honolulu: Association for Asian Studies and University of Hawaiʻi Press.ISBN0-824-82242-0.
  • Ng Wai-ming ( Ngô vĩ minh ) (2000). "The I Ching in Late-Choson Thought".Korean Studies.24(1): 53–68.doi:10.1353/ks.2000.0013.S2CID162334992.
  • Nielsen, Bent (2003).A Companion to Yi Jing Numerology and Cosmology: Chinese Studies of Images and Numbers from Han (202 BCE–220 CE) to Song (960–1279 CE).London: Routledge.ISBN0-700-71608-4.
  • Nylan, Michael(2001).The Five "Confucian" Classics.New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.ISBN0-300-13033-3.
  • Peterson, Willard J. (1982). "Making Connections: 'Commentary on the Attached Verbalizations' of theBook of Change".Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies.42(1): 67–116.JSTOR2719121.
  • Raphals, Lisa (2013).Divination and Prediction in Early China and Ancient Greece.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-1-107-01075-8.
  • Redmond, Geoffrey; Hon, Tze-Ki (2014).Teaching the I Ching.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-199-76681-9.
  • Redmond, Geoffrey (2021). "The Yijing in Early Postwar Counterculture in the West". In Ng, Wai-ming (ed.).The Making of the Global Yijing in the Modern World.Singapore: Springer. pp. 197–221.ISBN978-9-813-36227-7.
  • Rutt, Richard (1996).The Book of Changes (Zhouyi): A Bronze Age Document.Richmond: Curzon.ISBN0-700-70467-1.
  • Schuessler, Axel (2007).ABC Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese.Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press.ISBN978-1-4356-6587-3.
  • Shaughnessy, Edward(1983).The composition of the Zhouyi(Ph.D. thesis). Stanford University.
  • Shaughnessy, Edward (1993). "I ChingDịch Kinh (Chou IChu Dịch ) ". In Loewe, Michael (ed.).Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide.Berkeley: Society for the Study of Early China; Institute for East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley. pp. 216–228.ISBN1-557-29043-1.
  • Shaughnessy, Edward (1999). "Western Zhou History". In Loewe, Michael; Shaughnessy, Edward (eds.).The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 B.C..Cambridge University Press. pp.292–351.ISBN0-521-47030-7.
  • Shaughnessy, Edward (2014).Unearthing the Changes: Recently Discovered Manuscripts of the Yi Jing (I Ching) and Related Texts.New York: Columbia University Press.ISBN978-0-231-16184-8.
  • Shchutskii, Julian (1979).Researches on the I Ching.Princeton University Press.ISBN0-691-09939-1.
  • Smith, Richard J. (2008).Fathoming the Cosmos and Ordering the World: the Yijing (I Ching, or Classic of Changes) and its Evolution in China.Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.ISBN978-0-813-92705-3.
  • Smith, Richard J. (2012).The I Ching: A Biography.Princeton University Press.ISBN978-0-691-14509-9.
  • Yuasa, Yasuo (2008).Overcoming Modernity: Synchronicity and Image-thinking.Albany: State University of New York Press.ISBN978-1-435-65870-7.

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