I CHING

also spelled Yi Ching, Pinyin Yi Jing (Chinese: Classic of Changes, or Book of Changes), an ancient Chinese text, one of the Five Classics (Wu Ching) of Confucianism. The main body of the work has traditionally been attributed to Wen Wang (fl. 12th century BC), sage and father of the founder of the Chou dynasty, and contains a discussion of the divinatory system used by the Chou dynasty wizards. A supplementary section of commentaries is believed to be the work of authors of the Warring States period (475221 BC) and, as a philosophical exposition, represents an attempt to explain the world and its ethical principles, applying a largely dialectic method. For this the work came to have great importance in the history of Chinese philosophy. Modern scholars, nevertheless, have been troubled by the inclusion of the I Ching among the Confucian classics, for Confucius (551479 BC) seems to have deliberately avoided speaking of anything that suggested esoteric doctrines. The answer seems to be that Han dynasty Confucianists (c. 2nd century BC), influenced by the Taoist quest for immortality, justified their use of I Ching by attributing certain of its commentaries to Confucius. It was then a natural step to include the book among the Five Classics of antiquity. Though the book was originally used for divination, its influence on Chinese minds and its universal popularity are due to a system of cosmology that involves humans and nature in a single system. The uniqueness of the I Ching consists in its presentation of 64 symbolic hexagrams that, if properly understood and interpreted, are said to contain profound meanings applicable to daily life. Throughout the ages, I Ching enthusiasts have claimed that the book is a means of understanding, and even controlling, future events. The I Ching hexagrams are formed by joining in pairs, one above the other, eight basic trigrams (pa kua). Each trigram has a name, a root meaning, and a symbolic meaning. The legendary emperor Fu Hsi (24th century BC) is said to have discovered these trigrams on the back of a tortoise. Wen Wang is generally credited with having formed the hexagrams. In practice, one creates a hexagram by casting lots in one of several ways. The hexagram is built up from the bottom, line by line, by successive lots. Solid lines have the number nine, broken lines have the number six. Solid lines represent yang (the male cosmic principle), while broken lines represent yin (the female cosmic principle). These two principles explain all being and all change by their ceaseless interaction. Individual lines of a hexagram have been compared to single notes of music. Though each note has a quality and significance in itself, its truest significance depends on its place in a musical score. Because the same principle applies to individual lines of a hexagram, the I Ching text first explains each line separately, then gives an overall interpretation of the unit. The text is often expressed in cryptic, thought-provoking language, thus allowing the user great leeway in interpreting its significance.