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The I Ching (易經 pinyin yi4 jing1; alternately I Jing, Yi Ching, Yi King), the "Book of Changes" or more accurately "Classic of Change", is the oldest of the Chinese classic texts. |
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The I Ching (『易經』 pinyin yi4 jing1; alternately I Jing, Yi Ching, Yi King), the "Book of Changes" or more accurately "Classic of Change", is the oldest of the Chinese classic texts. |
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The book is also known as Zhou Yi (周易 zhou1 yi4; alternately Chou I), the "Changes of Zhou", in ancient Chinese literature which indicates the book was based on work from [Zhou Dynasty]?. See the History section below for more. |
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The book is also known as Zhou Yi (『周易』 zhou1 yi4; alternately Chou I), the "Changes of Zhou", in ancient Chinese literature which indicates the book was based on work from [Zhou Dynasty]?. See the History section below for more. |
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:(乾為天) heaven (top) + heaven (bottom) |
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:(乾為天) heaven (top, outer) + heaven (bottom, inner) |
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I Ching was completed in Hou Han Dynasty (circa 250 BC). |
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It was believed that the principle of I Ching was originated from Fu2 Xi1 (伏羲). He was one of earliest legendary rulers (2852|2738 B.C.), reputed to discover the trigrams (八卦 ba1 gua4). Before Zhou Dynasty, there were other literature on the "Change" philosophy, e.g. Lian2 Shan1 Yi4 (『連山易』) and Gui1 Cang2 Yi4 (『歸藏易』). The philosophy heavily influenced the literature and government adminstration of the Zhou Dynasty. It was refined over time and I Ching was completed around the time of Han4 Wu3 Di4 (漢武帝) in [Han Dynasty]? (circa 200 B.C.). |
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Probably the earliest record of fortune telling. |
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The turtle shell oracle is probably the earliest record of fortune telling. |
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The cracks were annotated with inscriptions which are considered the older Chinese writings. |
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The cracks were annotated with inscriptions which are considered the oldest Chinese writings discovered.
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It describes an ancient system of cosmology and philosophy which is at the heart of Chinese cultural beliefs. The philosophy centres around the ideas of balance through opposites and acceptance of change. See the Philosophy section below for more.
The book is also known as Zhou Yi (『周易』 zhou1 yi4; alternately Chou I), the "Changes of Zhou", in ancient Chinese literature which indicates the book was based on work from [Zhou Dynasty]?. See the History section below for more.
In the Western cultures, it is known mostly as a system of divination.
The I Ching symbolism is embodied in a set of 64 abstract line arrangements called hexagrams (卦). These are each comprised of six lines; each line (爻 yao2) is either a solid or unbroken horizontal line, or an open or broken horizontal line (with a gap in the centre). With six such lines stacked in each hexagram, there are 26 or sixty-four possible combinations and thus sixty-four hexagrams.
Each hexagram represents a process, a change happening at the present moment. To further express this, it is possible for one, many or all of the lines to be determined to be moving lines, i.e. their polarity is in the process of reversal and thus the meaning of the hexagram radically altered.
The solid line represents yang, the masculine, creative principle. The open line represents yin, the feminine, receptive principle. These principles are also represented in a common circular symbol (☯), called the yin-yang? (陰陽), expressing the idea that everything contains its opposite.
In the following lists, the trigrams and hexagrams are represented using a common textual convention: horizontally from left to right, using '|' for yang and ':' for yin. Note, though, that the normal diagrammatic representation is to show the lines stacked vertically, from bottom to top (i.e. to visualize the actual trigrams or hexagrams, rotate the text counterclockwise 90°).
Each hexagram can be considered composed of two trigrams (卦) of three lines each. There are eight possible trigrams (八卦).
The first three lines, the lower trigram, are seen as the inner aspect of the change that is occurring. The upper trigram, the last three lines, are the outer aspect. The change described is thus the dynamic of the inner (personal) aspect relating to the outer (external) situation. Thus, hexagram 04 :|:::| (蒙 meng2) Enveloping, is composed of the inner trigram :|: (坎 kan3) Gorge (or 水 water), relating to the outer trigram ::| (艮 gen4) Bound (or 山 mountain).
The hexagrams, though, are mere mnemonics for the philosophical concepts embodied in each one. The philosophy centres around the ideas of balance through opposites and acceptance of change.
Taoist thought is at the heart of the I Ching, and the ambient and dualistic nature of this school of thinking is perfectly demonstrated by the nuances of binary possibility within each line of hexagrammatic representation.
It was believed that the principle of I Ching was originated from Fu2 Xi1 (伏羲). He was one of earliest legendary rulers (2852|2738 B.C.), reputed to discover the trigrams (八卦 ba1 gua4). Before Zhou Dynasty, there were other literature on the "Change" philosophy, e.g. Lian2 Shan1 Yi4 (『連山易』) and Gui1 Cang2 Yi4 (『歸藏易』). The philosophy heavily influenced the literature and government adminstration of the Zhou Dynasty. It was refined over time and I Ching was completed around the time of Han4 Wu3 Di4 (漢武帝) in [Han Dynasty]? (circa 200 B.C.).
Actually the oracle predated the Book of I Ching by over 1000 years. Some oracles unearthed dated back to 1200 B.C. The writings on them were already highly developed which indicated that there may be much older oracles to be found. See History session.
Ref: [Is your web browser capable of displaying the trigram symbols used on this page?]
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