I Ching
| I Ching | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 易經 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 易经 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Yì Jīng | ||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | "Classic of Changes" | ||||||||||||||||||
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The I Ching (Wade-Giles), "Yì Jīng" (Pinyin), also known as the Book of Changes, Classic of Changes; and Zhouyi, is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts.[1] The book contains a divination system comparable to Western geomancy or the West African Ifá system. In Western cultures and modern East Asia, it is still widely used for this purpose.
The standard text originated from the ancient text (古文經) transmitted by Fei Zhi (费直, c. 50 BC-10 AD) of the Han Dynasty. During the Han Dynasty this version competed with the bowdlerised new text (今文經) version transmitted by Tian He at the beginning of the Western Han. However, by the time of the Tang Dynasty the ancient text version, which had survived Qin’s book-burning by being preserved amongst the peasantry, became the accepted norm among Chinese scholars.
The earliest extant version of the text, written on bamboo slips, albeit incomplete, is the Chujian Zhouyi, and dates to the latter half of the Warring States period (mid 4th to early 3rd century BC), and certainly cannot be later than 223 BC, when Chu was conquered by Qin. It is essentially the same as the standard text, except for a few significant variora.
During the Warring States period, the text was re-interpreted as a system of cosmology and philosophy that subsequently became intrinsic to Chinese culture. It centred on the ideas of the dynamic balance of opposites, the evolution of events as a process, and acceptance of the inevitability of change.
Contents |
History
Traditional view
Traditionally it was believed that the principles of the I Ching originated with the mythical Fu Xi (伏羲 Fú Xī). In this respect he is seen as an early culture hero, one of the earliest legendary rulers of China (traditional dates 2800 BC-2737 BC), reputed to have had the 8 trigrams (八卦 bā gùa) revealed to him supernaturally. By the time of the legendary Yu (禹 Yǔ) 2194 BC – 2149 BC, the trigrams had supposedly been developed into 64 hexagrams (六十四卦 lìu shí sì gùa), which were recorded in the scripture Lian Shan (《連山》 Lián Shān; also called Lian Shan Yi). Lian Shan, meaning "continuous mountains" in Chinese, begins with the hexagram Bound (艮 gèn), which depicts a mountain (¦¦|) mounting on another and is believed to be the origin of the scripture's name.
After the traditionally recorded Xia Dynasty was overthrown by the Shang Dynasty, the hexagrams are said to have been re-deduced to form Gui Cang (《歸藏》 Gūi Cáng; also called Gui Cang Yi), and the hexagram responding (坤 kūn) became the first hexagram. Gui Cang may be literally translated into "return and be contained", which refers to earth as the first hexagram itself indicates. At the time of Shang's last king, Zhou Wang, King Wen of Zhou is said to have deduced the hexagram and discovered that the hexagrams beginning with Initiating (乾 qián) revealed the rise of Zhou. He then gave each hexagram a description regarding its own nature, thus Gua Ci (卦辭 guà cí, "Explanation of Hexagrams").
When King Wu of Zhou, son of King Wen, toppled the Shang Dynasty, his brother Zhou Gong Dan is said to have created Yao Ci (爻辭 yáo cí, "Explanation of Horizontal Lines") to clarify the significance of each horizontal line in each hexagram. It was not until then that the whole context of I Ching was understood. Its philosophy heavily influenced the literature and government administration of the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC-256 BC).
Later, during the time of Spring and Autumn (722 BC-481 BC), Confucius is traditionally said to have written the Shi Yi (十翼 shí yì, "Ten Wings"), a group of commentaries on the I Ching. By the time of Han Wu Di (漢武帝 Hàn Wǔ Dì) of the Western Han Dynasty (c. 200 BC), Shi Yi was often called Yi Zhuan (易傳 yì zhùan, "Commentary on the I Ching"), and together with the I Ching they composed Zhou Yi (周易 zhōu yì, "Changes of Zhou"). All later texts about Zhou Yi were explanations only, due to the classic's deep meaning.
Modernist view
In the past 50 years a "Modernist" history of the I Ching emerged based on research into Shang and Zhou dynasty oracle bones, Zhou bronze inscriptions and other sources, (Marshall 2001, Rutt 1996, Shaughnessy 1993, Smith 2008). In the 1970s, Chinese archaeologists discovered intact Han dynasty-era tombs in Mawangdui near Changsha, Hunan province. One of the tombs contained the Mawangdui Silk Texts, a 2nd century BC new text version of the I Ching, the Dao De Jing and other works, which are mostly similar yet in some ways diverge from the received, or traditional texts preserved historically. This version of the I Ching, despite its textual form, belongs to the same textual tradition as the standard text, which suggests it was prepared from an old text version for the use of its Han patron.
Rather than being the work of one or several legendary or historical figures, the core divinatory text is now thought to be an accretion of Western Zhou divinatory concepts. As for the Shi Yi commentaries traditionally attributed to Confucius, scholars from the time of the 11th century AD scholar Ouyang Xiu onward have doubted this, based on textual analysis, and modern scholars date most of them to the late Warring States period (403 or 475 BC-256 or 221 BC), with some sections perhaps being as late as the Western Han period (206 BC-220 AD).
Structure
The text of the I Ching is a set of oracular statements represented by 64 sets of six lines each called hexagrams (卦 guà). Each hexagram is a figure composed of six stacked horizontal lines (爻 yáo), each line is either Yang (an unbroken, or solid line), or Yin (broken, an open line with a gap in the center). With six such lines stacked from bottom to top there are 26 or 64 possible combinations, and thus 64 hexagrams represented.
The hexagram diagram is composed of two three-line arrangements called trigrams (卦 guà). There are 23, hence 8, possible trigrams. The traditional view was that the hexagrams were a later development and resulted from combining the two trigrams. However, in the earliest relevant archaeological evidence, groups of numerical symbols on many Western Zhou bronzes and a very few Shang oracle bones, such groups already usually appear in sets of six. A few have been found in sets of three numbers, but these are somewhat later. Numerical sets greatly predate the groups of broken and unbroken lines, leading modern scholars to doubt the mythical early attributions of the hexagram system, (Shaugnessy 1993).
When a hexagram is cast using one of the traditional processes of divination with I Ching, each yin and yang line will be indicated as either moving (that is, changing), or fixed (unchanging). Sometimes called old lines, a second hexagram is created by changing moving lines to their opposite. These are referred to in the text by the numbers six through nine as follows:
- Nine is old yang, an unbroken line (
—θ—) changing into yin, a broken line (— —); - Eight is young yin, a broken line (
— —) without change; - Seven is young yang, an unbroken line (
———) without change; - Six is old yin, a broken line (
—X—) changing into yang, an unbroken line (———).
The oldest method for casting the hexagrams, the yarrow stalk method, was gradually replaced during the Han Dynasty by the three coins method and the yarrow stalk method was lost.[2] With the coin method, the probability of yin or yang is equal while with the recreated yarrow stalk method of Zhu Xi (1130–1200),[3] the probability of old yang is three times greater than old yin.[4]
There have been several arrangements of the trigrams and hexagrams over the ages. The bā gùa is a circular arrangement of the trigrams, traditionally printed on a mirror, or disk. According to legend, Fu Xi found the bā gùa on the scales of a tortoise's back. They function like a magic square with the four axes summing to the same value, using 0 and 1 to represent yin and yang: 000 + 111 = 101 + 010 = 011 + 100 = 110 + 001 = 111.
The King Wen sequence is the traditional (i.e. "classical") sequence of the hexagrams used in most contemporary editions of the I Ching.
Trigrams
The solid line represents yang, the creative principle. The open line represents yin, the receptive principle. These principles are also represented in a common circular symbol (☯), known as taijitu (太極圖), but more commonly known in the west as the yin-yang (陰陽) diagram, expressing the idea of complementarity of changes: when Yang is at top, Yin is increasing, and the reverse.
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, rather than the traditional bottom-to-top. In a more modern usage, the numbers 0 and 1 can also be used to represent yin and yang, being read left-to-right. There are eight possible trigrams (八卦 bāguà):
| Trigram Figure | Binary Value | Name | Translation: Wilhelm[5] | Image in Nature (pp.l-li) | Direction (p.269) | Family Relationship (p.274) | Body Part (p.274) | Attribute (p.273) | Stage/ State (pp.l-li) | Animal (p.273) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ☰ | 111 | 乾 qián |
the Creative, Force | heaven, sky 天 |
northwest | father | head | strong | creative | dragon |
| 2 | ☱ | 110 | 兌 duì |
the Joyous, Open | swamp, marsh 澤 |
west | third daughter | mouth | pleasure | tranquil (complete devotion) | sheep |
| 3 | ☲ | 101 | 離 lí |
the Clinging, Radiance | fire 火 |
south | second daughter | eye | light-giving, dependence | clinging, clarity, adaptable | pheasant |
| 4 | ☳ | 100 | 震 zhèn |
the Arousing, Shake | thunder 雷 |
east | first son | foot | inciting movement | initiative | horse |
| 5 | ☴ | 011 | 巽 xùn |
the Gentle, Ground | wind 風 |
southeast | first daughter | thigh | penetrating | gentle entrance | fowl |
| 6 | ☵ | 010 | 坎 kǎn |
the Abysmal, Gorge | water 水 |
north | second son | ear | dangerous | in-motion | pig |
| 7 | ☶ | 001 | 艮 gèn |
Keeping Still, Bound | mountain 山 |
northeast | third son | hand | resting, stand-still | completion | wolf, dog |
| 8 | ☷ | 000 | 坤 kūn |
the Receptive, Field | earth 地 |
southwest | mother | belly | devoted, yielding | receptive | cow |
The first 3 lines of the hexagram, called the lower trigram, are seen as the inner aspect of the change that is occurring. The upper trigram (the last three lines of the hexagram), is the outer aspect. The change described is thus the dynamic of the inner (personal) aspect relating to the outer (external) situation. Thus, hexagram 04 ¦|¦¦¦| Enveloping, is composed of the inner trigram ☵ Gorge, relating to the outer trigram ☶ Bound.
Hexagram lookup table
|
Upper → Lower ↓ |
☰ Qian |
☳ Zhen |
☵ Kan |
☶ Gen |
☷ Kun |
☴ Xun |
☲ Li |
☱ Dui |
| ☰ Qian |
01 ䷀ | 34 ䷡ | 05 ䷄ | 26 ䷙ | 11 ䷊ | 09 ䷈ | 14 ䷍ | 43 ䷪ |
| ☳ Zhen |
25 ䷘ | 51 ䷲ | 03 ䷂ | 27 ䷚ | 24 ䷗ | 42 ䷩ | 21 ䷔ | 17 ䷐ |
| ☵ Kan |
06 ䷅ | 40 ䷧ | 29 ䷜ | 04 ䷃ | 07 ䷆ | 59 ䷺ | 64 ䷿ | 47 ䷮ |
| ☶ Gen |
33 ䷠ | 62 ䷽ | 39 ䷦ | 52 ䷳ | 15 ䷎ | 53 ䷴ | 56 ䷷ | 31 ䷞ |
| ☷ Kun |
12 ䷋ | 16 ䷏ | 08 ䷇ | 23 ䷖ | 02 ䷁ | 20 ䷓ | 35 ䷢ | 45 ䷬ |
|
☴ |
44 ䷫ | 32 ䷟ | 48 ䷯ | 18 ䷑ | 46 ䷭ | 57 ䷸ | 50 ䷱ | 28 ䷛ |
|
☲ |
13 ䷌ | 55 ䷶ | 63 ䷾ | 22 ䷕ | 36 ䷣ | 37 ䷤ | 30 ䷝ | 49 ䷰ |
|
☱ |
10 ䷉ | 54 ䷵ | 60 ䷻ | 41 ䷨ | 19 ䷒ | 61 ䷼ | 38 ䷥ | 58 ䷹ |
The hexagrams
The text of the I Ching describes each of the 64 hexagrams, and later scholars added commentaries and analyses of each one; these have been subsumed into the text comprising the I Ching.
In the table below, each hexagram's translation is accompanied by a form of R. Wilhelm translation (which is the source for the Unicode names), followed by a retranslation.
Hexagram table references
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. UnicodeIn Unicode, monograms cover code points U+268A (⚊) and U+268B (⚋), digrams cover code points U+268C to U+268F (⚌ ⚍ ⚎ ⚏), trigrams cover code points U+2630 to U+2637 (☰ ☱ ☲ ☳ ☴ ☵ ☶ ☷), hexagram symbols cover code points U+4DC0 to U+4DFF. The Tai Xuan Jing extension of the Yi Jing characters, based on the Canon of Supreme Mystery (Chinese: 太玄經; pinyin: Tài Xuán Jīng) by Yáng Xióng (Chinese: 揚雄/扬雄; Wade–Giles: Yang Hsiung; 53 BC-18 AD), range from U+1D300 through U+1D356. Their Chinese aliases most accurately reflect their interpretation;[6] for example, the Chinese alias of code point U+1D300 (𝌀) is "rén", which translates into English as man and yet the English alias is "MONOGRAM FOR EARTH". Five additional digrams cover code points U+1D301 to U+1D305 (𝌁 𝌂 𝌃 𝌄 𝌅) and eighty–one tetragrams cover code points U+1D306 to U+1D356. Implications of the title
The I Ching is a "reflection of the universe in miniature". The word "I" has three meanings: ease and simplicity, change and transformation, and invariability.[7] Thus the three principles underlying the I Ching are the following:
Note that the character "易" combines the pictograms for the sun (日) and moon (月), and is thus symbolic of the interplay between Yin (阴: feminine) and Yang (阳: masculine), the forces that Taoists believe drive the universe. PhilosophyYin and yang, whilst common expressions associated with many schools of classical Chinese culture, are especially associated with the Taoists. Another view holds that the I Ching is primarily a Confucianist ethical or philosophical document. This view is based upon the following:
These views show that the I Ching was at the heart of early Chinese philosophical thought, serving as a common ground for the Confucian and Taoist schools. Partly forgotten due to the rise of Chinese Buddhism during the Tang dynasty, the I Ching returned to the attention of scholars during the Song dynasty. This was concomitant with the reassessment of Confucianism by Confucians in the light of Taoist and Buddhist metaphysics, and is known in the West as Neo-Confucianism. The book, unquestionably an ancient Chinese scripture, helped Song Confucian thinkers to synthesize Buddhist and Taoist cosmologies with Confucian and Mencian ethics. The end product was a new cosmogony that could be linked to the so-called "lost Tao" of Confucius and Mencius. Binary sequenceIn his article Explication de l'Arithmétique Binaire (1703) Gottfried Leibniz writes that he has found in the hexagrams a base for claiming the universality of the binary numeral system. He takes the layout of the combinatorial exercise found in the hexagrams to represent binary sequences, so that ¦¦¦¦¦¦ would correspond to the binary sequence 000000 and ¦¦¦¦¦| would be 000001, and so forth. The binary arrangement of hexagrams is associated with the famous Chinese scholar and philosopher Shao Yung (a neo-Confucian and Taoist) in the 11th century. He displayed it in two different formats, a circle, and a rectangular block. Thus, he clearly understood the sequence represented a logical progression of values. However, while it is true that these sequences do represent the values 0 through 63 in a binary display, there is no evidence that Shao understood that the numbers could be used in computations such as addition or subtraction. Richard S. Cook states that that the I Ching demonstrated a relation between the golden ratio (aka the division in extreme and mean ratio) and "linear recurrence sequences" (the Fibonacci numbers are examples of "linear recurrence sequences") :
DivinationIn China the I Ching had two distinct functions. The first was as a compendium and classic of ancient cosmic principles. The second function was that of divination text. As a divination text the world of the I Ching was that of the marketplace fortune teller and roadside oracle. These individuals served the illiterate peasantry. The educated Confucian elite in China were of an entirely different disposition. The future results of our actions were a function of our personal virtues. The Confucian literati actually had little use for the I Ching as a work of divination. In the collected works of the countless educated literati of ancient China there are actually few references to the I Ching as a divination text. Any eyewitness account of traditional Chinese society, such as S. Wells Williams The Middle Kingdom, and many others, can clarify this very basic distinction. Williams tells us of the I Ching, "The hundred of fortune- tellers seen in the streets of Chinese towns, whose answers to their perplexed customers are more or less founded on these cabala, indicate their influence among the illiterate; while among scholars, who have long since conceded all divination to be vain..". (The Middle Kingdom, vol. 1, p. 632) Symbolism
The Flag of South Korea contains the Taiji symbol, or tàijítú, (yin and yang in dynamic balance, called taegeuk in Korean), representing the origin of all things in the universe. The taegeuk is surrounded by four of the eight trigrams, starting from top left and going clockwise: Heaven, Water, Earth, Fire. In addition, the Republic of Korea Air Force aircraft roundel incorporates the Taiji in conjunction with the trigrams representing Heaven. The flag of the Empire of Vietnam used the Li (Fire) trigram and was known as cờ quẻ Ly (Li trigram flag) because the trigram represents South. Its successor the Republic of Vietnam connected the middle lines, turning it into the Qián (Heaven) trigram. (see Flag of the Republic of Vietnam). InfluenceThe I Ching has influenced countless Chinese philosophers, artists and even businesspeople throughout history. In more recent times, several Western artists and thinkers have used it in fields as diverse as psychoanalysis, music, film, drama, dance, eschatology, and fiction writing.[9] Prior to the Tokugawa period (1603–1868 AD) in Japan, the I Ching was little known and used mostly for divination until Buddhist monks popularized the Chinese classic for its philosophical, cultural and political merits in other literate groups such as the samurai.[10] The Hagakure, a collection of commentaries on the Way of the Warrior, cautions against mistaking it for a work of divination.[11] CommentaryEarly Chinese civilization, as with western civilization, accepted various pre-scientific explanations of natural events, and the I Ching has been cited as an example of this. As a manual of divination it interpreted natural events through readings based on symbols expressed in the trigrams and hexagrams. Thus any observation in nature could be interpreted as to its significance and cause. This might be compared to the Roman practice of basing decisions on the state of animals' livers. While usually sympathetic to the claims of Chinese culture and science, Joseph Needham, in his second volume of Science and Civilization in China (p. 311) stated: "Yet really they [Han dynasty scholars] would have been wiser to tie a millstone about the neck of the I Ching and cast it into the sea".[12] Abraham (1999) states that Confucius' ten commentaries, called the Ten Wings, transformed the I Ching from a divination text into a "philosophical masterpiece". It was this form of the I Ching that inspired the post-Warring State Taoists. It has influenced Confucians and other philosophers and scientists ever since.[13] However, Helmut Wilhelm in his Change/Eight Lectures on the I Ching, cautions: "It can no longer be said with certainty whether any of the material—and if any, how much—comes from Confucius' own hand".[14] Translations
See also
Footnotes
References
External links
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