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.
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.
Structure
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.
Components of Hexagrams
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).
- 1. ||| (☰ 乾 qian2) Force = (天) heaven
- 2. ::: (☷ 坤 kun1) Field = (地) earth
- 3. |:: (☳ 震 zhen4) Shake = (雷) thunder
- 4. :|: (☵ 坎 kan3) Gorge = (水) water
- 5. ::| (☶ 艮 gen4) Bound = (山) mountain
- 6. :|| (☴ 巽 xun4) Ground = (風) wind
- 7. |:| (☲ 離 li2) Radiance = (火) fire
- 8. ||: (☱ 兌 dui4) Open = (澤) swamp or some translate as lake
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
01. |||||| (乾為天 qian2 = heaven) Force
02. :::::: (坤為地 kun1 = earth) Field
03. |:::|: (水雷屯 water + thunder = chun2) Sprouting
04. :|:::| (山水蒙 mountain + water = meng2) Enveloping
05. |||:|: (水天需 water + heaven = xu1) Attending
06. :|:||| (天水訟 heaven + water = song4) Arguing
07. :|:::: (地水師 earth + water = shi1) Leading
08. ::::|: (水地比 water + earth = bi3) Grouping
09. |||:|| (風天小畜 wind + heaven = xiao3 chu4) Small Accumulating
10. ||:||| (天澤履 heaven + swamp = lu3) Treading
11. |||::: (地天泰 earth + heaven = tai4) Prevading
12. :::||| (天地否 heaven + earth = pi3) Obstruction
13. |:|||| (天火同人 heaven + fire = tong2 ren2) Concording People
14. ||||:| (火天大有 fire + heaven = da4 you3) Great Possessing
15. ::|::: (地山謙 earth + mountain = qian1) Humbling
16. :::|:: (雷地豫 thunder + earth = yu4) Providing-for
17. |::||: (澤雷隨 swamp + thunder = sui2) Following
18. :||::| (山風蠱 mountain + wind = gu3) Corrupting
19. ||:::: (地澤臨 earth + swamp = lin2) Nearing
20. ::::|| (風地觀 wind + earth = guan1) Viewing
21. |::|:| (火雷噬嗑 fire + thunder = shi4 ke4) Gnawing Bite
22. |:|::| (山火賁 mountain + fire = bi4) Adorning
23. :::::| (山地剝 mountain + earth = bo1) Stripping
24. |::::: (地雷復 earth + thunder = fu4) Returning
25. |::||| (天雷無妄 heaven + thunder = wu2 wang4) Without Embroiling
26. |||::| (山天大畜 mountain + heaven = da4 chu4) Great Accumulating
27. |::::| (山雷頤 mountain + thunder = yi2) Swallowing
28. :||||: (澤風大過 swamp + wind = da4 guo4) Great Exceeding
29. :|::|: (坎為水 kan3 = water) Gorge
30. |:||:| (離為火 li2 = fire) Radiance
31. ::|||: (澤山咸 swamp + mountain = xian2) Conjoining
32. :|||:: (雷風恆 thunder + wind = heng2) Persevering
33. ::|||| (天山遯 heaven + mountain = dun4) Retiring
34. ||||:: (雷天大壯 thunder + heaven = da4 zhuang4) Great Invigorating
35. :::|:| (火地晉 fire + earth = jin4) Prospering
36. |:|::: (地火明夷 earth + fire = ming2 yi2) Brightness Hiding
37. |:|:|| (風火家人 wind + fire = jia1 ren2) Dwelling People
38. ||:|:| (火澤睽 fire + swamp = kui2) Polarising
39. ::|:|: (水山蹇 water + mountain = jian3) Limping
40. :|:|:: (雷水解 thunder + water = xie4) Taking-Apart
41. ||:::| (山澤損 mountain + swamp = sun3) Diminishing
42. |:::|| (風雷益 wind + thunder = yi4) Augmenting
43. |||||: (澤天夬 swamp + heaven = guai4) Parting
44. :||||| (天風姤 heaven + wind = gou4) Coupling
45. :::||: (澤地萃 swamp + earth = cui4) Clustering
46. :||::: (地風升 earth + wind = sheng1) Ascending
47. :|:||: (澤水困 swamp + water = kun4) Confining
48. :||:|: (水風井 water + wind = jing3) Welling
49. |:|||: (澤火革 swamp + fire = ge2) Skinning
50. :|||:| (火風鼎 fire + wind = ding3) Holding
51. |::|:: (震為雷 zhen4 = thunder) Shake
52. ::|::| (艮為山 gen4 = mountain) Bound
53. ::|:|| (風山漸 wind + mountain = jian4) Infiltrating
54. ||:|:: (雷澤歸妹 thunder + swamp = gui1 mei4) Converting The Maiden
55. |:||:: (雷火豐 thunder + fire = feng1) Abounding
56. ::||:| (火山旅 fire + mountain = lu3) Sojourning
57. :||:|| (巽為風 xun4 = wind) Ground
58. ||:||: (兌為澤 dui4 = swamp) Open
59. :|::|| (風水渙 wind + water = huan4) Dispersing
60. ||::|: (水澤節 water + swamp = jie2) Articulating
61. ||::|| (風澤中孚 wind + swamp = zhong1 fu2) Centre Confirming
62. ::||:: (雷山小過 thunder + mountain = xiao3 guo4) Small Exceeding
63. |:|:|: (水火既濟 water + fire = ji4 ji4) Already Fording
64. :|:|:| (火水未濟 fire + water = wei4 ji4) Not-Yet Fording
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.
Philosophy
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.
History
I Ching was completed in Hou Han Dynasty (circa 250 BC).
Divination
Methods
Yarrow stalks
Coins
Marbles
Rice grains
Calligraphy brush strokes
Moment of birth
Additional resources
Ref: [Is your web browser capable of displaying the trigram symbols used on this page?]
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