The core of the I Ching is a Western Zhou divination text called the Changes of Zhou ( Chinese: 周易; 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 the Zhou yi with dated bronze inscriptions, the American sinologist Edward Shaughnessy dated its compilation in its current form to the last quarter of the 9th century BC, during the early decades of the reign of King Xuan of Zhou ( r.c. 827–782BC). [5] A copy of the text in the Shanghai Museum corpus of bamboo and wooden slips (discovered in 1994) shows that the Zhou yi was used throughout all levels of Chinese society in its current form by 300 BC, but still contained small variations as late as the Warring States period (c. 475–221BC). [6] It is possible that other divination systems existed at this time; the Rites of Zhou name two other such systems, the Lianshan [ zh] and the Guicang. [7] Name and authorship [ edit ]

I have shown in this example as objectively as I can how the oracleproceeds in a given case. Of course the procedure varies somewhataccording to the way the question is put. If for instance a personfinds himself in a confusing situation, he may himself appearin the oracle as the speaker. Or, if the question concerns arelationship with another person, that person may appear as thespeaker. However, the identity of the speaker does not dependentirely on the manner in which the question is phrased, inasmuchas our relations with our fellow beings are not always determinedby the latter. Very often our relations depend almost exclusivelyon our own attitudes, though we maybe quite unaware of this fact. Hence, if an individual is unconscious of his role in a relationship,there may be a surprise in store for him; contrary to expectation,he himself may appear as the chief agent, as is sometimes unmistakablyindicated by the text. It may also occur that we take a situationtoo seriously and consider it extremely important, whereas theanswer we get on consulting the I Ching draws attentionto some unsuspected other aspect impllcit in the question. Part of the canonization of the Zhou yi bound it to a set of ten commentaries called the Ten Wings. The Ten Wings are of a much later provenance than the Zhou yi, and are the production of a different society. The Zhou yi was written in Early Old Chinese, while the Ten Wings were written in a predecessor to Middle 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 the I Ching a perfect fit to Han period Confucian scholarship. [40] The inclusion of the Ten Wings reflects a widespread recognition in ancient China, found in the Zuo zhuan and other pre-Han texts, that the I Ching was a rich moral and symbolic document useful for more than professional divination. [41]In the Zuo zhuan stories, individual lines of hexagrams are denoted by using the genitive particle zhi ( 之), followed by the name of another hexagram where that specific line had another form. In later attempts to reconstruct ancient divination methods, the word zhi was 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 the Zuo 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 ] 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: Cambridge University Press. pp. 292–351. ISBN 0-521-47030-7. Zeichen, meaning sign, is used by Wilhelm to denotethe linear figures in the I Ching, those of three linesas well as those of six lines. The Chinese word for both typesof signs is kua. To avoid ambiguity, the precedent establishedby Legge ( The Sacred Books of the East, XVI: The YiKing) has been adopted througout: the term "trigram"is used for the sign consisting of three lines, and "hexagram"for the sign consisting of six lines. Yuasa, Yasuo (2008). Overcoming Modernity: Synchronicity and Image-thinking. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-1-4356-5870-7.

Among the followers of Confucius, it would appear, it was principallyPu Shang (Tzú Hsia) who spread the knowledge of the Bookof Changes. With the development of philosophical speculation,as reflected in the Great Learning ( Ta Hsüeh) andthe Doctrine of the Mean ( Chung Yung), [22] thistype of philosophy exercised an ever increasing influence uponthe interpretation of the Book of Changes. A literature grewup around the book, fragments of which -- some dating from anearly and some from a later time -- are to be found in the so-calledTen Wings. They differ greatly with respect to content and intrinsicvalue.

My Other Websites

Here the ting has been put to use, but evidently in a veryclumsy manner, that is, the oracle has been abused or misinterpreted. Inthis way the divine food is lost, and one puts oneself toshame. Legge translates as follows: "Its subject will bemade to blush for shame." Abuse of a cult utensil such asthe ting (i.e., the I Ching) is a gross profanation. The I Ching is evidently insisting here on its dignityas a ritual vessel and protesting against being profanely used. The I Ching, or Book of Changes, has exerted a living influence in China for thousands of years. Today, it continues to enrich the lives of readers around the world. First set down in the dawn of history as a book of oracles, it grew into a book of wisdom with the inclusion of commentaries on its oracular pronouncements, eventually becoming one of the Five Classics of Confucianism and providing a common source for both Confucianist and Taoist philosophy. This edition of the I Ching is the most authoritative and complete translation available, preserving the spirit of the ancient text while providing a vital key for anyone who seeks to live harmoniously with the immutable law of change. It represents the nature of the earth, strong in devotion; amongthe seasons it stands for late autumn, when all the forces oflife are at rest. If the lowest line changes, we have the hexagramFu, RETURN: Rutt 1996, pp.126, 187–8; Shchutskii 1979, pp.65–6; Shaughnessy 2014, pp.30–35; Redmond & Hon 2014, p.128. Known as t'ai chi t'u, "the supreme ultimate."See R. Wilhelm, A Short History of Chinese Civilization,tr. by J. Joshua (London, 1929), p.249.