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75th out of 661 books
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1,829 voters
The I Ching, or Book of Changes
The I Ching, or Book of Changes, is one of the first efforts of the human mind to place itself within the universe. It has exerted a living influence in China for three thousand years, and interest in it has been spreading in the West. First set down in the dawn of history as a book of oracles, the Book of Changes deepened in meaning when ethical values were attached to th...more
Hardcover, Third Edition, 740 pages
Published
October 1st 1967
by Princeton University Press
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I find it strange when people quote this book. I've seen multiple philosophers, writers, History Channel documentaries, heck, even Sean Connery in Zardoz quote the I Ching. Don't they realize that the I Ching's advice is directed towards the specific hexagram casted in response to a specific question? Its advice is catered to those who ask it–its words cannot be pulled out of context and applied to any life situation willy-nilly! The results could be disastrous! Take these two quotes, as an exam...more
Oct 02, 2007
Aimee
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
philosophers and religion enthusiasts
Shelves:
philosophy
I know that in NORMAL circles, it's odd to read an ancient chinese text upon which a non-theistic religion is based. HOWEVER, I am not normal and most of the people I enjoy aren't either. SO, let me say that of all the religious texts I have ever read, there is something fundamentally gorgeous about the foundations of this Taoist book. I find it beautiful, cosmically true and irrefutably WISE in its basic applications. By this I mean that the eight pure three-line gua are hypnotically symbolic o...more
This is one of my favorite translations of the Yi Jing. There are three books I use most often when I throw the coins: the classic Wilhelm/Baynes translation, this one, and Carol Anthony's A Guide to the I Ching. What I like about the Alfred Huang book is that it is very readable and useful, and at the same time feels like it is conveying the nuances of the Chinese meanings better than any other translation I have used. Huang explains in better detail a number of the odd turns of phrase that Wil...more
I read a little bit of this book almost every day. I can usually find a sentence or more that resonates with me on that day. The ancients believed that this book was a representation of the voices of spirits. It is thousands of years old. I don't know how to use divination with it, but I feel like it is a reliable friend who always gives good advice pertinant to my situation.
My favorite line today is, "Everything that gives light is dependent on something to which it clings, in order that it ma...more
My favorite line today is, "Everything that gives light is dependent on something to which it clings, in order that it ma...more
Not your average review but if it wasn't good I would not have bought more than one copy over nearly 40 years.
I bought my first copy in 1975 when I had a secret bet on the Grand National on Escargot. I remember the assistant in the book department giving me 2 sales receipts for it and marking the book with a 50% off ticket to save me from a black eye for spending so much on the book.
The book helped me so much in my depression. The pages started to fall out so I had to throw it away.
In about 1985...more
I bought my first copy in 1975 when I had a secret bet on the Grand National on Escargot. I remember the assistant in the book department giving me 2 sales receipts for it and marking the book with a 50% off ticket to save me from a black eye for spending so much on the book.
The book helped me so much in my depression. The pages started to fall out so I had to throw it away.
In about 1985...more
This one is, for me, the grandfather of all the books I use. I occasionally read it, consult it, when I want a complete and full (and usually quite symbolic and mysterious) reading, for it is the translation closest to the original that I have found. However, I have other translations I use for faster readings or for explanations/explorations into deeper aspects of the figures. My longtime copy of this book has been packed away for several years (long story!), and I have continually thought that...more
Oct 12, 2007
Tracy O
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
use this if you're stuck
Yes, I KNOW. All of the hackles on your back are going up as you read this title. All I can say is that when you read this (and, yep, cast the pennies in this case) you will think this is SO much baloney. But, I really think that the readings are just a way to think about your life using a new window - what's another way to look at my situation? Everytime I think about an issue using this, I have a new insight - it's darn straight-forward.
I've been studying this book since 1973, the same year I went to college.
4 stars is a little generous in my book, but these are 4 stars relative to other works. A good all-around translation. I think he adds too much at times, perhaps lending to much credibility to his own interpretations. Nonetheless, it is nice to see how a well-educated Taoist would present his understanding of the Yi Jing to others.
Feb 10, 2013
Michael
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in Asian history or Philosophy
Ever since reading that Jimi Hendrix was influenced by the writings in the I Ching, of course I wanted to find out for myself what was inside. This edition translated and outlined by Edward Shaugnessy cound not have been a better starting point in my study of this ancient Chinese "Classic of Changes".
As a stand-alone reading, the I Ching can be quite cryptic and confusing, and Shaughnessy's introduction gives a well-rounded synopsis of the use, history, and relevance of this text. Further, the M...more
As a stand-alone reading, the I Ching can be quite cryptic and confusing, and Shaughnessy's introduction gives a well-rounded synopsis of the use, history, and relevance of this text. Further, the M...more
the I Ching is a must have in my library. I use it frequently and have always found it useful and insightful. It's quirky and has a mind of it's own. I love the I Ching.
One short I Ching story. When I was a much younger person I moved to Davenport Iowa. My car broke down the day before the move. My ex and I decided to move anyway and purchase a new vehicle after we got there. We borrowed a friend's car our first day in Davenport and drove everywhere looking at car lots. There was nothing in our...more
One short I Ching story. When I was a much younger person I moved to Davenport Iowa. My car broke down the day before the move. My ex and I decided to move anyway and purchase a new vehicle after we got there. We borrowed a friend's car our first day in Davenport and drove everywhere looking at car lots. There was nothing in our...more
My intent is not to offend any who use this book for spiritual meaning or guidance, therefore if that is you I highly recommend you not read my review and simply move on and accept that not everyone finds meaning in the same way. And frankly much worse has been said about my own religious literature than what I'm about to say.
That said, this book is absolutely ridiculous. I'll be honest I only made it through about 3 or 4 pages, and all I gathered from that is that man is good and man is bad and...more
That said, this book is absolutely ridiculous. I'll be honest I only made it through about 3 or 4 pages, and all I gathered from that is that man is good and man is bad and...more
So many versions of this, the oldest tome. This edition is by far my favourite. Wilhelm worked his arse off to make sure that as little as possible got lost in translation, including spending decades absorbing Chinese culture\language. He seemed to have a fantastic understanding of how to present eastern ideas to western minds and he even got his good mate Carl Jung to add in one of the best forewords i've ever read. Highly recommended unless you are the type of person who tends to become a slav...more
Feb 07, 2009
Erik Graff
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to Erik by:
C.G. Jung
Shelves:
religion
The introduction by C.G. Jung was quite helpful in making sense of these ancient "divination texts" as reflective tools. So helpful that I tried it several times with the simple coin method and could see what he was getting at. Intellectually, however, the most interesting thing was the suggestion of a radically different sense of time. Emotionally, I had been brought up with the ideology of evolutionary progress while intellectually I subscribed to the notion of time as the essentially neutral...more
Kerson and Rosemary Huang's edition of the I Ching is another view of the ancient Chinese Book of Changes. The thoroughly, yet not boringly, follow the Changes from its inception throughout the various Dynasties, following the historical additions to the text. Additionally, they demonstrate Confucius' reverence for its wisdom and guidance, as well as the tragic contrast with the bureaucratic Confucians' ironic twisting of its meaning to fit their own selfish purposes.
According to the Huangs, the...more
According to the Huangs, the...more
The I Ching or Book of Changes is a fascinating book. What drew me into this book is the sheer richness of its content. Richard Wilhelm analyzes all 64 hexagrams of the King Wen sequence in minute detail. First he gives a primer on the I Ching, which leads to in-depth, line-by-line analysis of each hexagram's original text, and lastly, he dissects the structure of each hexagram and its related commentaries (for instance, hexagrams are made up of two primary trigrams and two nuclear trigrams...)....more
For over a decade in my 20s and 30s, I kept a lunar daybook, and each weekly period was dedicated to explicating a chapter in the I Ching; every 6 days, I would through my own I Ching, and read the related chapters. It wasn't, for me, so much a book of divination as it was a book of explanation - it explained social responsibility and social order to me in a clear and understandable way. it only took 10 years to see this clearly. You never learn everything in any Book of Wisdom completely, so yo...more
Interesting read for background information. Historically written during the fuedal/warring period, the life of Kung Fu Tze, scholar, teacher, agent of social change and order was phenomenal. Balance the study with the Daoism/ or Tao and the Lao Tzu's observation of nature and the natural order and you have a better understanding of the Eastern mindset.
Historical students and buffs will find contrasting and comparing Eastern and Western thought creates a better overview. Especially if you hope...more
Historical students and buffs will find contrasting and comparing Eastern and Western thought creates a better overview. Especially if you hope...more
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Product Description
At least 5000 years old, the I Ching is a book of oracles containing the whole of human experience. Used for divination, it is a method of exploring the unconscious; through the symbolism of its hexagrams we are guided towards the solution of difficult problems and life situations. It can also be read as a book of wisdom revealing the laws of life to which we must all attune ourselves if we are to live in peace and harmony.
From Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Ching-Book-...
At least 5000 years old, the I Ching is a book of oracles containing the whole of human experience. Used for divination, it is a method of exploring the unconscious; through the symbolism of its hexagrams we are guided towards the solution of difficult problems and life situations. It can also be read as a book of wisdom revealing the laws of life to which we must all attune ourselves if we are to live in peace and harmony.
From Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Ching-Book-...
At one point in my life while semi-transient, it was necessary to leave a portion of my library behind. So I left a box of books on a corner in Berkeley. My I Ching- the Blofeld translation- was amongst these. Some ten years later, I was browsing a bookstore on Haight St. and found a copy of the I Ching in the dollar discount rack. Opening it to the inside cover revealed a very familiar ink stain- green ink, which I suppose I had spilled on it, back in high school. So what are the odds of anyone...more
As a skeptic I have a hard time reconciling logic & reason with my experiences concerning this book. The I Ching is like Chinese astrology that uses coins instead dates. You throw the coins and get a nugget of wisdom that speaks to your life and its problems. Logic would immediately say this is preposterous and I tend to agree, even now. The only problem with my conclusion is that hundreds of coin throws have shown me the I Ching is anything *but* random.
A friend introduced me to the book an...more
A friend introduced me to the book an...more
de facto translation of the i ching for english-onlys like us americans tend to be. if you are really interested in the i ching, you need to read this book at least once and to keep it as a reference. the readings are incredibly insightful and sound incredibly natural given the two levels of translation (chinese -> german -> english). i often find myself wondering if the obfuscation of the double translation is actually a blessing for such an esoteric and interpretable text.
Gee whiz.. this book has a LOT of reviews! Here's my two cents worth: It's kinda fun to play with, especially with the little chinese coins with the holes in them! I just can't take any so called "wisdom" too seriously, especially when its based on chance. Thats not to say that synchronicity isn't alive and well and that real life experiences will prove that time and again, I just never thought that looking for it was very useful other than as a parlor game.
For those not into divination, the I Ching nonetheless serves two purposes: As history (it is one of the oldest texts in history and served as the source material for the Tao te Ching) and as an exercise in freedom--by tossing the direction of our daily actions to the wind, it gives license to let go of the Western habit of controlling every second of one's day. As such, the I Ching begs to be used as a Buddhist springboard.
Though admittedly dated, Wilhelm's translation is still the most consummate (though not definitive). Regardless of one's stance of divination, the I Ching should be read due to its legacy as the oldest book found to date atop its philosophy of psychology which, for Westerners in the 21st Century, is vital: Through chance (cf. coins) to the wind and let go of a little control and see what life brings once in a while.
There was a time when I searched for answers that I believed could be anywhere, books were just one avenue. When something appeared to have an answer to one of life's questions, I read it. This was one of those books as were many others from various religions. While I'm not religious, my reasoning at the time of reading this and other books was simple: "You don't know if you don't read it." So I found out!
The I Ching describes the changes of time, and our relationship to it. The King Wen sequence was translated into a mathematical formula by Terrence Mckenna who lined it up with our time line described many interesting historical parallels. It is a great divination tool, giving direct advice as to how to act in a given situation, as well as general advice which is slowly absorbed over time.
This is another of those books not to read cover to cover so much but something to pick up if you are unsure that the way you are looking at the world is correct. Toss the yarrow sticks or the coins and refresh you perspective.
The translation in this book is suppose to be excellent but I have no way of evaluating the accuracy. However, it does read better than others I have encountered.
The translation in this book is suppose to be excellent but I have no way of evaluating the accuracy. However, it does read better than others I have encountered.
I remember I had some quotes from Jung and Confucius at the back cover. Those were enough to make me fall in love with the book. I love it because it has a believable philosophy behind it. It's kind of addictive too, well, it can be if you are into stuff like prophecy etc. I miss mine so much. I wish I had it with me now :(
Oh! BTW I havn't read an English translation yet, I read it Persian.
Oh! BTW I havn't read an English translation yet, I read it Persian.
May 22, 2012
Partha Banerjee
added it
The mother of all books of wisdom of this planet. This is the work that has inspired three thousand years of Chinese culture and continues to inspire every soul who has asked it for help. This is not faith. Reading this book itself is a journey which opens up so many unique worlds of meaning and bliss. I shall always consider myself lucky that I got to know of this book.
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“When flowing water...meets with obstacles on its path, a blockage in its journey, it pauses. It increases in volume and strength, filling up in front of the obstacle and eventually spilling past it...
Do not turn and run, for there is nowhere worthwhile for you to go. Do not attempt to push ahead into the danger... emulate the example of the water: Pause and build up your strength until the obstacle no longer represents a blockage.”
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Do not turn and run, for there is nowhere worthwhile for you to go. Do not attempt to push ahead into the danger... emulate the example of the water: Pause and build up your strength until the obstacle no longer represents a blockage.”
“All day long the superior man is creatively active.”
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1 person liked it
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