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Yi Jing (I-Ching)

An Introduction to the Yi Jing(I Ching) What is the Yi Jing (I Ching)? The Yi Jing (I Ching), or Book of Change, is an ancient Chinese oracle that has been consulted in times of trouble for thousands of years. It was used as a guide and source of wisdom by the emperors, helping them decide the difficult issues of statecraft; and it was both a source and repository of philosophical insight for the Chinese sages. Both of the major Chinese philosophical traditions, Taoist and Confucionist alike, have contributed to its development and it finds a place in many aspects of Chinese culture including Chinese Astrology, the martial arts and statecraft. That is has survived, indeed flourished, over its 5000 year history is a testament both to its effectiveness as a practical guide in times of doubt and trouble and its role as a source of deep philosophical wisdom. Simply, it can help us live in harmony with the forces that shape life. The Traditional History According to most stories, the originator of the Book of Change is Fu Hsi, the legendary semi-human first emperor of China who is also credited with the invention of writing and cooking. He is said to have noticed the trigrams (Ba Qua, the basic three lined figures of the Yi Jing(I Ching)) on the back of a tortoise emerging from the Yellow River. Thus, through careful observation of the patterns in nature he came to understand the structure of reality. This event is usually placed at around 3000BCE. The following is a description of each of the Ba Qua symbols: 1. Sky Three solid lines were used to symbolize sky. The sky is strong and has divine power to provide infinite space to accommodate all. Using three solid lines to represent the sky is very the appropriate for its supreme being.   2.Earth Three broken lines are used to symbolize earth. The earth is a gigantic object. It is a supporting body for human life and a burial ground for death. It is considered soft and receptive, because it can take a lot of punishments with tolerance. 3. Thunder Two broken lines on top a solid line symbolize thunder. The two broken lines on top have the image of lighting and the bottom solid line symbolizes elevation. Thus, the image is lighting striking on the top of a mountain. 4.Wind Two solid lines on top a broken line symbolize wind. The two solid lines represent the sky and energy. The broken line represents earth. Thus, this image is the sky and energy approaching earth. The wind is invisible and we can only justify its existence by observing the moving tree tops. 5. Water (Moon) A solid line in between two broken lines symbolize water. The two broken lines represent the depression of earth (river banks). The solid line in the middle represents motion. This creates the image of water flowing in a river. In addition, this Qua also represents the moon. ¡@ 6. Fire (Sun) A broken line in between two solid lines symbolize fire. The two solid lines indicate the movement of fire. The broken line is the center of the fire which is still. In addition, this Qua also represents the Sun. 7. Mountain A solid line on top of two broken lines symbolize mountain. The solid line represents elevation and the bottom two broken lines represent earth. Thus this image is a mountain elevated above the earth. 8. Marsh A broken line on top of two solid lines symbolize marsh. The top broken line is water and the bottom two solid lines is sky. If we are looking down at a body of water anywhere on earth, we will see the reflected sky below the water surface. This seems to be a logical way to symbolize the Marsh Qua. Later, around 1150BCE, King Wen was falsely imprisoned by the last tyrannical leader of the Shang dynasty. Whilst in jail he studied the Changes and created the hexagrams (six line figures) by doubling the trigrams of Fu Hsi. He gave each figure a name and a short description. When his son, the Duke of Chou, later added texts for the individual lines, the Yi Jing(I Ching) was essentially complete and, by the time of Confucius, around 500BCE, it had become a core classic of Chinese thought. How much of this traditional account is historical fact is less important than the nature of the tale. Specifically, the Yi Jing(I Ching) has no single author, rather it has been pieced together by a number of people over a long period of time. Further, it is the result of careful observation of the patterns in the world and those observations have been organized into a coherent picture using the symbols of the Book of Change.

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